Finding the Best Culinary Schools

There are many things to consider with deciding on a culinary school to attend. Each one of these categories is important and as a potential student, you may want to spend some time researching schools to find answers. The more information you have, the easier it will be to make a final choice.

Location - Do I want to live at home, close to home or away from home

Program Length - 2 years, 3 years, 4 years or 6 months

Class Schedule - If currently working, does the class schedule fit in with the rest of my schedule?

Cost - Can I afford the school that is the best fit for me?

Class Size - How big are the classes? Do I want small, more manageable class sizes?

Facilities - How modern are the classrooms and equipment? Will I be working with similar equipment used in restaurants?

Faculty - Full time or part time? Experience?

Degree or Certification - What type of degree or diploma do I want?

Accreditation - Does the school have accreditation and by what organization?

Housing - If I'm not living at home, does the school have student housing? If not, do they help me find a place to live?

Job Placement - how helpful is the school with finding me a job after I graduate?

You may be interested in what the outlook is for in a culinary career. It looks good! According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry is one of the largest private sector employers by employing 12.7 million people in kitchen and front of the house employees. Better news? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), that number should continue to grow over the next decade. What this means to you is there will be plenty of opportunity for years to come.

Also according to the BLS, "cooks and food preparation workers held 3.0 million jobs in 2008. The distribution of jobs among the various types of cooks and food preparation workers was as follows:

Cooks, restaurant 914,200
Food preparation workers 891,900
Cooks, fast food 566,000
Cooks, institution and cafeteria 391,800
Cooks, short order 171,400
Cooks, private household 4,900
Cooks, all other 18,000

Two thirds of all cooks and food preparation workers were employed in restaurants and other food services and drinking places. About 16 percent worked in institutions such as schools, universities, hospitals, and nursing care facilities. Grocery stores and hotels employed most of the remainder."

The National Employment Matrix predicts Restaurant Cook's Jobs will grow from 914,200 in 2008 to 984,400 in 2018 or 8%.

With the popularity of celebrity chefs, cooking shows on t.v. and the overall interest in food these days, full service restaurants should continue to be popular and attract patrons. There appear to be more takeout restaurants as well and these establishments will compete with the full and limited service restaurants for employees.

Important To Note
If you are thinking of working a full time job at one of the high-end restaurants, you may run into some competitiotn because the number of job applicants exceeds the number of job openings. This is most likely because these establishments pay better and there is lower turnover.

Great question and the answer is all over the board. Generally speaking, working as a cook will not make you rich. Most chefs and professional cooks I speak with say they do it because they love working with food and pleasing people with what they prepare. Yes, I guess if you make it to the top and become a celebrity chef or write a hit cookbook, there can be a bunch of money made, but they are a very small percentage compared to the number of professional cooks in the marketplace.

In general, executive chefs working in high-end restaurants or corporate dining rooms are going to make the most money although I have heard of some personal chefs working for the rich and famous who are dong quite well. If you live and work in a large metropolitan city where there may be more competition, there is also a better opportunity to find a higher paying job.

Let's look at some numbers from the BLS*

Earnings of chefs, head cooks, and food preparation and serving supervisors vary greatly by region and the type of employer. Earnings are usually highest in upscale restaurants and hotels, where many executive chefs are employed, and in major metropolitan and resort areas.

Median annual wage-and-salary earnings of chefs and head cooks were $38,770 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $29,050 and $51,540. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,120, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $66,680.

*Bureau of Labor and Statistics

Every year The Reluctant Gourmet sponsors a culinary grant in association with Chef4Students.org. One of the recipients is Karly Krentz who is attending the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education in Grand Rapids, MI. I asked Karly about some of her experiences at school and here is what she had to say:

When and how did you decide to attend culinary school?

I decided to attend culinary school because of the competition team that I was a part of. I was very excited to be a part of the team. Every experience on the team caused me to enjoy the culinary arts field more and more. This lead me to making the decision to make culinary arts my career and to attend culinary school.

When you were deciding on which schools to apply to, what were you looking for?

My plan for going to culinary school was to attend New England Culinary institute, because of the scholarship I received. There was not much searching involved for me until I talked to the program director at Secchia Institute for Culinary Education. He suggested that we take a tour of his school. I basically looked for somewhere that I felt comfortable.

Affordability was also an important decision maker. I also talked to some chefs that I knew and asked for their opinions on the schools.

What are some of the standout lessons you've learned since beginning culinary school?

Since the beginning of culinary school I have learned a lot about how important confidence is. When you don't have confidence you step back and miss out on learning. Also you will never get better if you don't think you can do it.

What advice can you give to young people still in high school who are looking to go to culinary school?

I would totally recommend looking into culinary schools. If you are not into school, it's nice because a lot of the learning is hands on. I would recommend looking around at the best option for culinary school for the individual. Sometimes you are able to get just as good of an education from a school that is less expensive.

Also it is very important to take your classes seriously. Your teachers are the ones who will write letters of recommendations for you. Chefs know other chefs and if someone asks about you, you want them to give a good recommendation. If you don't take classes seriously culinary school will not be beneficial for you.

For my complete interview with Karly Krentz