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Your First Culinary Job
Once you graduate from a culinary arts training program, you can be prepared for an exciting start to a culinary career! Graduates of cooking schools have been taught a mixture of skills which can help them as they begin careers. Some of these skills may include knife techniques, meat preparation, sauces and stocks, beverage selection and more.
Your culinary training can prepare you for entry level positions at a variety of food service establishments. Positions and duties may vary, depending on where you work, but typically you can expect to perform the following duties in your first job:
- Prepare ingredients for complex dishes
- Slice and dice vegetables
- Toss salads
- Prepare cold food items
- Cut, grind, and prepare meats, poultry, and seafood
- Measure and weigh ingredients
- Stir and strain soups and sauces
Are you ready to start down the path toward a culinary career? Get your culinary education today!
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Versatile Pine Nuts
By Ken Rubin
 Most of us probably associate pine nuts with pesto, the vibrant green sauce that is ubiquitous in Genoa, Italy. But pine nuts appear in many diverse cuisines around the world and have been enjoyed for thousands of years. Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest grind pine nuts into a paste and make cakes with them, while in the Lebanon they are baked in confections. The ancient Greeks preserved these nuts in honey, as their high fat content makes them suspect to rapid deterioration and spoilage.
Whether you call these nuts pignoli or piñon—rest assured that these seeds are healthy, tasty, and versatile in the kitchen. Most cooks opt for toasting the seeds before use to heighten the flavor profile. Since pine nuts scorch easily, it is essential that they are toasted slowly and evenly—lest they burn and then you are left with nothing but a bitter product that is unusable in the kitchen. For anyone who has toasted pine nuts, they go from perfectly golden and delicious to burnt and acrid in just a matter of seconds—so be careful.
Pine nuts are very versatile and can be enjoyed in a great variety of ways. They can be used whole, chopped, or powdered. They work effortlessly in both savory and sweet applications. So, pine nuts on a crisp spinach salad with red onions and tangy vinaigrette makes for a wonderfully simple and delightful treat. Pine nuts also add a nice counterbalance to sautéed green beans with lemon, olive oil, and fresh herbs. Ground pine nuts can be added to tart crusts or used as a pastry filling. Since they have been used cross-culturally for centuries, it is hard to go wrong with pine nuts—so a creative spirit is the best way to approach this product.
| Edible Pine Nuts Worldwide |
North America
Pinus edulis
Pinyon (Piñon) Pine
Pinus monophylla
Single Leaf Pinyon Pine
Pinus sabiniana
Gray Pine
Europe
Pinus pinea
Italian Stone Pine
Pinus cembra
Swiss Stone Pine |
Asia
Pinus koraiensis
Korean Pine
Pinus gerardiana
Chilgoza Pine
Pinus sibirica
Siberian Stone Pine
Pinus pumila
Siberian Dwarf Pine
Pinus armandii
David's Pine, Chinese
White Pine |
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Couscous with Broccoli, Garlic and Pine Nuts |
| Prep Time: 5 minutes |
| Cook Time: 10 minutes |
Ingredients
| • 1-1/2 lbs. broccoli florets\cooked |
• 3 cloves garlic, minced |
| • 2 tsps. olive oil |
• 2 cups vegetable stock or water |
| • 1/4 cup pine nuts |
• 1-1/4 cups couscous |
Instructions
| Place broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover pan and steam 5 minutes or until bright green and tender. Remove broccoli from pan and set aside. Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sauté pine nuts 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in couscous, cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand about 5 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, add broccoli and season with salt and pepper to taste * |
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Rosemary Baked Salmon |
| Prep Time: 10 minutes |
| Cook Time: 10 minutes |
Ingredients
• 1 Tbsp. rosemary, crumbled,
or 2 Tbs. fresh, minced |
• 2/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs |
| • 1/4 tsp. salt |
• 1-1/2 lbs. salmon |
| • 1/2 tsp. pepper |
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil |
| • 2 cloves garlic, minced |
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Instructions
| Preheat oven to temperature 425°F. Combine first 4 ingredients in a mortar or bowl and mash to a paste. Using a fork or food processor, mix paste into breadcrumbs. Season both sides of salmon steaks with salt to taste. Arrange salmon steaks in a lightly oiled baking dish. Press equal amounts of breadcrumb mixture onto the top of each salmon steak and drizzle with oil. Place in oven and roast 10-12 minutes or until fish is cooked throughout. ** |
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By Albert W. A. Schmid
Some beers are better choices for the hot summer day just as some beers are better for cooler weather. Generally speaking, the best beer for the hot summers day are lagers. The main reason for this is that lagers are served a much lower temperature than ales so they will be more refreshing in a hot summer sun. Lagers also tend to have a higher hop content, which allows the beer to be more refreshing and less filling. You can choose a macro-brewed beer such as Coors, Miller, or Budweiser–all of them lagers–and any of these will "get the job done." However, you might want to try something new. If this is true, you might want to try a Bock.. This beer is known for its full-bodied flavor and the sweet aftertaste of malt. Or you might want to try an Eisbock or "Ice Beer." For a beer that is closer to what you might be use to (in other words a "normal beer") but still has you experimenting a little, try a real "Pilsner." For a real Pilsner style beer you need to pick up an imported beer from the Bohemian Czech town of Plzen. This beer should in many ways seem very familiar to the beer that you drink. The reason is that all Marco-brewed beer in the United States is based on this style of beer. |
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During your culinary education, you may participate in a variety of courses to help you prepare for a career. You may learn about properly preparing meat and seafood. Another important topic covered in most culinary programs is dessert creation. You may also learn about beverage and wine selection. In addition, future chefs need to learn about nutrition and sanitation in their restaurant. Contact a school near you to see what programs are available in your area.
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The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minneapolis, MN |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston, Cambridge, MA |
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Pennsylvania Culinary Institute,
Pittsburgh, PA |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta,
Tucker, GA |
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Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts Dallas |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami,
Miramar, FL |
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Orlando Culinary Academy |
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Texas Culinary Academy
Austin, TX |
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California School of Culinary Arts, Pasadena, CA |
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California School of Culinary Arts, Hollywood, CA |
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California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, CA |
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Kitchen Academy Sacramento |
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Kitchen Academy Seattle |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas |
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Scottsdale Culinary Institute Scottsdale, AZ |
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Western Culinary Institute, Portland, OR |
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