Escoffier On Line

Hi I am new to this site and I have a question. I am 35 and I have always loved to cook and I want to make that my career. Will getting a Culinary certificate be good enough to get a job or do I need a degree. I just need some direction with what would be the best way to start. Thanks in advance for any help!

Hey Joseph,

Really no can answer that question correctly for you, each case is different.

Liking to cook and being able to make a living at it are two totally different things.

To give you a feeling for the differences in opinion below is a brief snippet of a discussion over at my WebFoodPros.com site. A link to the whold thread is at the bottom of the discussion. There are thousands of post at the WFP site and hundreds of them deal with this topic.

If you decide on going the degree route be sure to read this article-
How to Evaluate a Culinary Arts Program
www.escoffier.com/index.php/content-cate...e-a-culinary-program


Best of luck!

George

WebFoodPros.com: WanaBe a Chef: Save your money
By Jonnyboy (Jonnyboy) on Tuesday, May 30, 2000 - 07:49 pm: Edit
This is just on opinion but the vast sums of money you will be spending on your culinary education would do you much better if you invested it went to work for a talented chef( several)and in ten or fifteen years open your own place with the money you saved. No schoolingwill teach what you learn hands on. From my experience most schools teach outdated techniques and most students come out with a sevre attitude problem,questionable work ethic and expect life handed to them on a silver platter.You do not walk out of school and get offer exec. chef jobs paying 70k. They come from hard work and being taught by great chefs.We are all created equal,and given free will.Some of us just refuse to be average

By B_dalesandro (B_dalesandro) on Wednesday, June 28, 2000 - 06:54 am: Edit

I just have to openly ask where would we all be if we never learnt the techniques that got us where we are today.... probably not any where close to where we are now. That's like the fool who posted on one of the other boards about not needing to learn the mother sauces etc. I'd hate to have that person on my line cooking. The same person probably thinks making a red wine reduction is cutting the amount of red wine in a recipe in half. We need to remember that culinary school is just the beginning of the learning process giving us the basic techniques so we can grow as culinarians. Now don't think I totally disagree with johnnyboy. He makes some valid points. (I'm only defending the teaching aspect of outdated techniques) I just feel that if we don't know where we were (technique wise) we won't be able to move foward.

By B_dalesandro (B_dalesandro) on Wednesday, June 28, 2000 - 07:03 am: Edit

oh I apoligize johnnyboy , I just checked and you are the fool I refered to. I guess you just decided to change which board you posted on. For you wanna be chefs check out the post in the great hall titled "the new millenium" see what Johnnyboys peers had to say about a post that is almost the same. Sounds like Johnnyboy is a little upset (maybe the executive chef that he works for is a recent culinary graduate)

By Jonnyboy (Jonnyboy) on Wednesday, June 28, 2000 - 10:38 am: Edit

Oh look a chef who shuffles papers and hasn't been near a stove in years. No offence but to me exec chefs of hotels aren't chefs, chefs cook.Glorified paper shufflers such as your self are a dime a dozen, the hands on chefs are the ones who excel and go on to do the truly exceptional food. NOw i have no problem with culinary schools if that is your perogitive however to me to spend 70k to come out and make minimum wage is just silly.

By Meatchef (Meatchef) on Wednesday, June 28, 2000 - 11:00 am: Edit

To make minimum wage is a reflection on the quality of the cook. Executive chefs have paid their dues and are teaching what they know to the people who work with them. Yes, we all have to shuffle papers some times but you first have to know what the papers are telling you.
I guess I am really a dime a dozen since I am the Executive Chef of MANY hotels.
It sounds as though you have been burnt somewhere along the line. Telling a "Wanna-Be" to save the money on their education is 180 degrees from what they actually SHOULD do.



Link to original article (Very long and interesting)
webfoodpros.com/discus/messages/108/161.html

Wow talk about timing. Long a pet peeve of mine the outrageous tuition charged by for profit culinary programs, like Le Cordon Blew etc.,and the non transferable credits you "earn" (read article above) it looks like they might finally be exposed for what they are.

Check these articles out

www.slashfood.com/2011/03/17/do-culinary...ools-get-chefs-jobs/


www.npr.org/2011/03/15/134568267/regulat...der-culinary-schools

I personally can't wait to see how the California lawsuit turns out.

Cheers,

G

Thanks Chef for the two replies I really appreciate you taking time to answer my question. I have some thinking to do.

In my experience I'd say it depends on where you're willing to start. If you want to try and bypass 'paying your dues' and get straight into a sous or head chef position, the certificate wouldn't hurt but isn't a guarantee. Quite likely even with your papers they'll look at your practical and if you don't have the time, you'll likely be put on line or prep anyhow.

Getting a job for prep or line Is easier and generally doesn't require you have any kind of formal education. Passion really is one of the most important things this way. Also depending on where you go, this can also give you the benefit of working under a Chef, or finding out what styles of cuisine or areas of focus you prefer.

In the long term, going through an education process is never a bad thing and will undoubtedly speed the process in the long run. I never went that route myself, but with the experience I have now, I never have problems finding work in a kitchen. Also, it's given me the opportunity to realize that as much as I enjoy cooking, I enjoy baking even more. So if I can arrange the finances to go for a formal education I'll be going the pastry route.

Joseph2626:
I suggest that you check these websites for a community college program:
ACF Postsecondary Programs
Shaw's Guide to Culinary Schools
Good luck.