A CULINARY ARTS DEGREE: THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER

A culinary arts degree opens numerous doors of opportunity for the aspiring cook. You may be attracted to the image of the fine restaurant chef, delicately applying the finishing touch on a meal for a wealthy patron. Perhaps the smell of fresh baked bread is your idea of nirvana, in which case opening a bakery may be your dream. Many people complete a culinary arts degree with the sole intention of teaching what they've learned to others. In any event, the doors that open for you can lead to many destinies…you simply have to walk through one.





The Chef's Life
The most well-known culinary arts degree programs teach nutrition, kitchen management, meal planning, and cooking to the aspiring chef. Some students take this culinary arts degree straight to a fine restaurant to begin moving up the ladder to head chef. The idea of creating good meals reflecting their own taste and skill is a professional coup for many. But this career has its drawbacks, too. A restaurant's busiest meals are dinner on Friday and Saturday. Be ready for late hours and no free weekends, ever.

Some people earn a culinary arts degree and go into being personal chefs. The very wealthy, or simply the very busy, will sometimes hire a chef to come to their homes to prepare meals. This is great because the chef controls his or her schedule by picking clients carefully. Some clients may want two days' worth of food prepared at the chef's convenience and put in the fridge. Some may want to watch a fresh supper prepared and then served.

Culinary arts degree holders also teach the new generation of chefs. After some years in kitchens with irregular hours or picky clients, the idea of a classroom may sound good. Or why not even stay at home and give cooking lessons? Many chefs make their living by bringing amateurs into their houses to learn, or going to the client's site to teach. Chefs can create nice themed lessons for individuals or small groups.





Pat-a-Cake
Cooking and baking need different skills and approaches. While a culinary arts degree should cover aspects of both, many students will choose to specialize in cooking or baking. The life of a baker generally starts early in the morning, in contrast to the chef's late night. People with regular jobs want their croissants and muffins on the way to work. Proper bread with no preservatives must be made fresh for sale every day; it gets too stale by the second or third day. Most bakers find work either in an actual bakery or baking sweets and breads in an offsite kitchen to be delivered to stores and restaurants.