One of the reassuring aspects of a career in the culinary arts is that even in a bad economic climate, people will still want to eat out sometimes. Still, restaurants are notoriously difficult businesses to run, and more restaurants are struggling to stay afloat now that people are spending less. So if you are a culinary arts professional—or are studying to be one—consider some alternative places of employment for your next job.
If you like variety and a frequent change of scene, a job with a catering firm might suit you. Catering chefs have the chance to stretch their skills by cooking for gatherings of many different sizes and purposes—everything from a small society luncheon to a huge wedding reception. You’ll work with clients to prepare different menus from different cuisines, and you’ll probably become familiar with the insides of many of your area’s finest hotels and conference centers.
Speaking of hotels, kitchens in hotels, casinos, spa resorts, and country clubs offer stable and rewarding work for chefs and other culinary professionals. Whether you are working in the hotel’s restaurant or preparing room service deliveries, you will be a member of a team that provides a satisfying experience for customers that goes beyond food. You could even hunt for jobs on cruise ships, and see the world.
You can also look in to institutions—hospitals, schools, universities, and even corporations require chefs to provide meals for their cafeterias. Although some chefs might find the nutritional requirements placed on hospitals or schools daunting, many institutions are trying to improve the quality of their food, which could present an interesting challenge to a chef charged with planning the menus. Plus, it’s reliable, absorbing work, and if you have any front-line contact with your “customers”, you get to know them pretty well.
Another interesting challenge, but on a smaller scale, is the chef who cooks for private families. Providing healthy, delicious meals to families too busy to cook is a skill that’s often in demand, and you can spread your talent over a few families at once if none of your clients require a live-in chef. A more commercialized version of this is working for meal-delivery services—either specialized diet services, that provide meals to people looking to lose weight, for example, or community programs such as Meals on Wheels that deliver to needy individuals.
Finally, you can always pass your skills on in the classroom as an instructor. Whether you teach culinary arts students or provide lessons to interested amateurs (or even to school children in a home economics class), you will be passing on the practical skills that help someone else make the most of their passion for food. And if you feel you want to sharpen your own skills before you attempt to find employment in any of the non-traditional settings above, there are plenty of courses to choose from at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
