i am actually thinking of studying Culinary Arts when i get into College, which is why i am asking, are there actually any lucrative careers for someone that this skill could place me in?

i asked my dad, but i just got the sarcastic "cookin? but thats womens work!" response followed by "i dont know"

VERY intense job. I was in for it, but dropped out for multiple reasons.

It's not easy to find a job worth the amount of time you put into college or university for it. Most jobs you can get with the diploma, you can get without, as long as you know how to cook.
It's intense work. It's always fast moving, it's always noisy and stressful.
Be prepared to get yelled at, alot.

Basically, you can work in tonnes of different places, however it's going to be really difficult to find a good job for it.

I'v worked at catering companies, bakeries, restaurants and large-scale banquet halls.

It's difficult work. Just make sure you're prepared to deal with the stress, work and long hours.

Yes there are very lucrative jobs to be had with a degree in the culinary arts, but if your in it for the money you should probably go with a business degree or something. If you don't have a love of cooking or fast hard work then you won't last.

im glad someone with actual experience in the field could give me some advice.

I actually enjoy cooking, which is why i was interested.

but i hate doing work that involves me sitting in one spot, and especially doing anything repetitive (i worked as an office aid for a semester, i sat in a room, alone, and filed paper work.) so i think i might actually enjoy that environment.

Start your own restaurant.

i always thought about that, but im not extremely good with management or numbers.

You can hire people to do that.

You can't enjoy cooking. You have to love it. You have to absolutely love making the food to the best of your abilities, and love constant improvement.

And you will be in one spot alot. Granted, you do move around more, different stations, grabbing stuff from fridges, freezers, taking stuff up, etc. I tell this to anyone who asks me about cooking: "It's intense."

It's probably one of the most intense jobs out there. There is so much that can go wrong, and it always does. You will always be under stress, because your head chef is always under stress, because everything you send out, reflects on him. And no head chef is going to be nice. Granted, off working hours they cool down, but you better be ready to bust ass. I'd suggest trying to find a place that will let you sit in for a day and observe how they work. I ended up backing out of my course, mainly because it's not worth the money to go to college for anything, any average joe with the internet can learn just as fast lol.

i dont want to get to far ahead of myself just yet, lets just see how college plays out first.

Good luck!

:blink:

is there a high demand for it?

people gotta eat i guess, and there are restaurants in every single city in the united states. (well probably)

Goodluck, hope if you do go into it, it's something you can stick with.



Lol. Think of it like going for any media or game development job. If you KNOW your stuff, they won't say "you're not getting hired do to lack of certification from post-secondary".
I think out of everywhere I worked, only 3 people actually had finished post-secondary for culinary arts lol.



Eh.. There is, but there is also alot of competition. You do have to know ALOT of recipes off hand and how to make them, including their variants.

It is all depending where and what you will study. One of my best friend in Nigeria is a german chef working in a french restaurant and he has absolutly no problem to get a job. Funny enough, he called me this morning very early, just when I was about to reply this topic.
He told me that you need to get a training in a good restaurant, preferably french where it will be more demanding. The training are the key. And also, you will need to specialize: dessert, seafood, starters, meat, venaison etc... You need to love your job. Cook are not accountants or car dealers. They have usually passion for what they do. His salary is around 3800 euros. He strongly advises you to go to study in serious school, New York, Los Angeles. He taught in Le Cordon Bleu school in New York in 1998. "If he doesn't chose the right school and the training and he wants to stay in middle west, he will become a KFC cook", that's his words.

Also, that one is mine: cooking is very tough, the atmosphere in a kitchen is extremely rude and brutal, there is need for strict discipline. Better be aware of that.

But this is worth, lucrative, a lot of job everywhere in the world.

They don't teach you how to cook, they teach you how to perform under pressure. I went to Johnson and Wales which is an excellent place for experience and jobs and all that. If you want to "try it out" I'd tell you to just work in a kitchen first and get training. I was the only one who hadn't and playing catch-up was a huge pain in the ass.

If you ever become a chef, please be nice you your waitstaff!
I hate chefs <_<

PersonWorm, the father of my grand dad in France was a chef on his own restaurant, then some places in Bordeaux and then the Normandie, a liner between France and US and Caribbean. He then became a chef in a restaurant in Reims, France called the Florence. I remember always this story my grand dad told me.
Once, in the 1920s, he was angry with a young training because of a failed sauce Mornay (which is not so straight forward), he took the guy, lifted him and sat him on top of the cooker. The guy had a burned trouser AND a burned butt... He went to court for that. And the judge said that the young boy misbehaved, the chef is the master in his kitchen and he was only condemned to pay a very small amount to the guy (I think something like 1 month salary...). There was no powerful trade unions at that time....

My grandparents owned and operated a Spanish resturant for over forty years, it's a massive amount of work. Resturants don't just involve cooking, there's an entire hidden business aspect.
Making sure regualtions are followed, health, safety, permits, income taxes, acessibility, insurance on the business and workers, and their health. Making sure that unemployment, workers compensation and other taxes are paid. It was extremely lucrative, supported a family of 11 and a few grandchildren. It got to the point where my grandparents couldn't physically do it anymore, so they closed it. The kids had all gone off to pursue careers of their own.
You can hire an accountant to assist you with your money management, but don't blindly put trust in anyone with regards to your income.

Thanks for all the feedback from people with actual experience on the topic.

Im going to keep considering it, and i will see how things work out

I hate to say this, but I wouldn't listen to your dad if that's what he actually said or anything along those lines. Look at the people on Iron Chef and you will basically see the top of the top area for cooking/being a chef. However the Culinary Arts is a HUGE field and you have to decided what you would like to do. Do you like making desert, meat dishes, main courses, cooking in general, etc...? Once you decide that then you can narrow down your training as to where to begin.

It may also be wise to try and start cooking dishes for yourself in a higher capacity. Start experimenting with things to see how you can bring out more unique flavors. At the moment i'm experimenting with wine and cooking off the alcohol to bring out richer flavors with meat dishes. (White Wine with chicken, Red for Pork/Beef with certain rums for desert items like Strawberries for topping on Ice Cream.)

he was joking, he doesn't care what i do. like i said, he was being sarcastic.

I think before experimenting how to enhance flavour or sophisticated things, he should learn basic by himself. Cooking is not only adding spices and flavour. That's the so-called fusion cooking which I believe is a mess.

First, Spectre, you need to go back to basic: cutting meat, vegetables for example. Making roux, white, brown, dark... How to make sauces. How to make mayonnaise, bearnaise, sauce mornay etc... Frying, roasting, baking. Basic things. Most french, italians or spanish, we learn that very small, observing mum and grand ma. But I know in the US, there is no real cooking tradition, so you have to learn from scratch.

I don't think it will take a long time if you have the 'feeling'. You will also discover very quickly what you are good in. I am zero in preparing dessert, in fact, I don't like it. Fish is not too much my cup of tea. I am very good in meat, to make good sauce and even new style of sauces. This evening, I think I will make some fish, very simple, steamed. Just sole fillet, a little of lemon, bay leaf, parsley, salt, pepper and coriander. Cling film on top and 10 min in microwave. It will simply be steamed with all the aromas...

Try to cook simple things so you can identify the taste of each ingredients separatly. The food in the US is often with a lot of spices and various things masking the real taste. Try real italian food, this is very good for starter because it needs simple things, fresh ingredients and you can get amazing results quite simply.

Back to basic is the most important.

One of my concerns (I'm not a professional chef but my brother in law and sister in law are) is that while there's a chance it would make you love cooking more, it may also make you hate it.

I make pretty spectacular cupcakes and general baked goods. People are constantly telling me to start my own business but I think it would tear all the enjoyment I get out of it. When you're constantly following a recipe too it can stifle creativity - this is obviously only til you become head chef though and create your own menu.

I am starting my second year of culinary school today. After my first year I will agree with Makandal that you need to know the basics before you try doing anything else. If all you want to do is be an "Iron Chef" you are in for a rude awakening. Being in a production kitchen is nothing like that. A chef does not need to memorize recipes, a chef needs to know techniques. After you have your basic techniques you will start to learn flavors and flavor combinations. I will also agree with NinjaFish that you have to truly love cooking in order to really do it. my class started out with 40+ people in it, at the end of the first year it had 18. This is not for everyone, but for those with a passion for it, it is a spectacular field with high potential for large income and a very satisfying life. Though in the states you will want a degree, because with the state of the union the way it is you will need that piece of paper to give you a leg up, even then you will more than likely start out as a dishwasher. School is not just for learning but for networking as well, not only with your fellow students, who will eventually be your competition and possibly your compatriot, but also, depending on the school, you will me already established chefs who are willing to hire / give internships for those who show a true passion. That in itself can be invaluable, because a recommendation from a chef that is successful in the field is gonna get you even further ahead in the beginning. I had an opportunity to intern with Fabio (of Top Chef fame), something that would never have come about had I not gone to school. If you plan on opening your own restaurant make sure to take business courses as well, preferably "Manage First" programs as they are tailor made for the restaurant/hospitality industry.