Why should you get a culinary education? Many students pursue a culinary degree to one day become an executive chef or own their own businesses. Many others, however, do not intend to work in a kitchen but begin their career path with a culinary degree. However, becoming an executive chef is not the only career path for culinary students. There are many other options for a career path with a culinary degree, some of which will be discussed here.
Growing up I wanted to be a chef, but as some say sometimes life gets in the way of life, so I took a detour. After pursuing a degree in Hospitality Management, I entered the industry and worked in different capacities; as a cook, a manager, in catering and in spas. Through my journey I began to discover how vast the culinary field is. Seven years later, I went to culinary school, but at that time, I already knew I no longer wanted that degree in order to become a chef.
Culinary training does more than teach us how to cook, it teaches discipline, organizational skills, how to follow directions, how to think on our feet, how to multi-task, and that is just the beginning. One of the things every person in the world has in common, is we all have to eat. Food surrounds us. We see it in movies, in cookbooks, in magazines, on television, at hospitals, restaurants, hotels, schools, it is everywhere.
As Marcel Proust, a French author wrote, sensation memories are some of the most vivid. Sometimes we remember a moment in our lives because it is triggered by a smell, taste, or sound we once knew as children. As culinarians, we have the gift to create those memories for people through many avenues.
Food stylists learn culinary techniques to produce food that will be featured on television, movies, magazines, and advertising. Food scientists develop new food products for companies. These products will be included in the menus of large chain restaurants, or on the shelves of supermarket chains. Food writers use the skills to best describe techniques, flavor profiles and textures of food that they write about in their columns or magazines. Dieticians come up with healthy alternatives and recipes for special dietary needs. Catering managers put together menus for events. Purchasing agents need the skills to be able to select good quality products and then receive these in an appropriate manner for any establishment. Cookbook authors write recipes and take pictures of food they have created so it can appear in their books. Culinary instructors learn the skills to pass them along to the next generation of chefs, food writers, stylists, cookbook authors, dieticians, managers, chefs, and teachers. Innovators create new areas of growth and opportunity within the culinary field every day and the opportunities are beyond the scope mentioned before.