When you think about it, the culinary community does have a lot to offer. Culinary schools in the United States and around the world offer different specialties in that field. It is more than just the executive chef preparing the entire meal.
It is a group of individuals working together who make the final product. Culinary arts careers are booming as more people watch reality food shows and want to be a chef. You can be a chef too or simply keep it as a hobby.
Culinary arts careers offer a great number of choices for culinary students who are seriously interested in joining the culinary community. Students learn each step of the kitchen by what is known as stations.
There are several different stations to be found in the kitchen, such as the meat, appetizer, sauce, vegetable and dessert stations. By working together, the line chefs are able to produce the customer’s requested meal.
Many culinary students begin work as a line chef and then quickly move forward to each different station in the hopes that they will become a sous chef someday. A sous chef is like the second in command. He or she can work each of the stations and assists the executive chef in any way.
He or she is a vital part of the chain of command and is a greatly respected part of the kitchen team. Sometimes, smaller kitchens will not have a sous chef, while larger operations may have several.
Other positions within a restaurant include people to manage the finances and business of the kitchen. These people are trained in Hospitality and Restaurant Management. Without these people the restaurant would not be a success. They interact with the customers and can call out the orders to the chef in the kitchen.
If these positions seem to be not exactly what you are after and you are not pursuing a culinary career position, then you may want to consider attending a Thai cooking school or a French cooking school class. You can still learn different techniques but without the pressure to advance the position of chef. They are great ways to add a different menu to your repertoire and dazzle your friends and family.
Culinary arts careers are not for everyone. Some people are very comfortable in their current jobs and just want to learn more skills for their hobby. There is nothing wrong with that.
Others want to seek out the challenges of the kitchen and eventually become an executive chef at a fine restaurant or resort. The most important factor is to love what you are doing and learning.