Become a Culinary Artist

What tasks do Culinary Artists perform?

Maybe you want to be the next Boiardi (That’s Chef Boyardee to you)! He is a prime example of a famous culinarian. Chefs are captivating people who work anywhere from the steakhouse to the White House doing such amazing feats as

• Sous Chefs for lawyers (just kidding)

• Camp cooking (if you’re living in mountain time)

• Safe food handling (exceptions, H1N1, salmonella outbreaks, etc)

• Sports diet (the NBA and other sports organizations have special chefs)

• DVD series (sold at a bookstore near you).

• Menus (women eat too)

Larger restaurants and food service establishments generally hire people with higher degrees. Staffs frequently include several chefs and cooks, and in some cases, they do not need certification. Each cook or chef works in an assigned station that contains the types of stoves, pans, grills, and ingredients needed for the foods that are being prepared at that station. Job titles often contain the principal ingredient prepared or the kind of cooking performed—which will depend on what type of restaurant you desire to work in. These cooks may also supervise or work with other workers in food preparation.

Executive chefs and head cooks coordinate the kitchen staff and oversee the preparation of meals. They decide upon serving sizes, order food supplies, plan menus, and administer kitchen operations to ensure uniform presentation and quality of meals. An executive chef, for example, is over all food service operations and may also supervise the many kitchens of a hotel, corporate dining operation, or restaurant group. A chef de cuisine works under an executive chef and is in charge of the daily operations for a single kitchen. A sous chef (sub chef) is second in command and supervises the kitchen when the chef is absent. You must have formal training to work in a five star restaurant.

Education and Training

In hiring chefs and others for advanced cooking positions, employers generally prefer applicants who have received training beyond high school. These training programs range from certification to master’s degrees. Depending on what school you attend, you might study any subject from theory and design to topics such as psychology and baking of foods. Schools offer programs for Greek, Bulgarian, French, Japanese (the famous Cordon Schools) and many other interesting delicacies that students can focus on. But you shouldn’t get Thai’d up here. Go ahead and view our list of schools to learn more about the ever changing, ever fascinating field of culinary arts!