Is It Worth it to Go to Culinary School?

Answer 1

In this era of Celebrity Chefs, where chefs and chef-restauranteurs like Cat Cora, Tony Bourdain, Eric Ripert and scores of others are on our televisions and their books line our shelves, many students contemplate becoming a chef as not only a career but a life-long dream. There are some things to consider first though, before you embark on an education that may cost you a fair amount in terms of time and money, but won't guarantee you'll ever become a chef.

First, if you're thinking about a career as a chef, I urge you to start reading about life as a chef, now, right away. I'd start with the profane but honest Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Look for the revised edition published in 2007. Bourdain recommends reading lots of cookbooks as well as reading the standard journals for the culinary trade—Saveur, Food Arts, and Restaurant Business magazines.

Bourdain started out as a line cook, but you might be more familiar with him as a celebrity chef on shows like No Reservations and Top Chef. Bourdain went to The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), but as he and many others have pointed out, going to CIA or to Johnson and Wales, the other high profile contender in the U. S. for culinary training, is no guarantee of success.

In fact there are no guarantees regarding culinary success, including talent. But there are some things you can do to increase your chances. One of those is to start working in the industry as soon as possible. Even a few summers bussing tables, helps a future chef become familiar with life in a professional kitchen. I note that the CIA requires applicants to have professional kitchen experience. In fact if you read these comments from successful professional chefs, you'll notice that over and over again, they emphasized practical experience in working restaurant is invaluable.

A culinary degree from CIA or a comparable school can cost upwards of 60k. It might make more sense to start working your way up in a kitchen, and attending a local technical college for a few years for some instruction about techniques and exposure to the food services industry. Many technical schools even have their own restaurant, allowing students to work as a prep assistant, a sous chef, a chef, a buyer and even work the front of the house.