Careers: Culinary Arts

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North Region

Superintendent:
Cynthia Wilson

Executive Principal: Diana Gibson - Johnson

Principal:
Rever Givens

 

Choose a career in culinary arts.

In culinary schools, students study a wide range of topics. A student can attend a general program, picking up a great deal of topical knowledge, or a student can choose to focus on a particular aspect of cooking. Common topics covered in culinary school include baking, catering, desserts, handling and choosing fresh meats and vegetables, ethnic cuisines, and restaurant management. A graduate of a cooking school is expected to be able to perform in a professional kitchen successfully, and many cooking schools offer chef placement services to assist their graduates.

A student may choose to focus on a particular skill in culinary school, such as patisserie, the art of baking French style pastries. A pastry chef learns the nuances of the art of baking, and is able to produce things like cookies, pies, tarts, breads, and an assortment of other sweet and savory pastries. Another student might choose to focus more on the restaurant management end of culinary school, with the end goal of supervising a kitchen or working in another branch of the hospitality industry. Others might want a strong education in ethnic and fusion cuisine.

According to the National Restaurant Association sales in the restaurant industry were $426 billion in the US in 2002. This money was spent on more than 54 billion meals. The National Restaurant Association forecast for 2004 is $440.1 billion in sales (get more info at the: National Restaurant Association website. Simply put, the culinary industry is huge, and growing. 11 million people work in it, representing about 1 in 11 jobs in the US. Selling food is big business!

Culinary careers can follow many paths. About 60% of all culinary workers find jobs in restaurants and eating and drinking places. 20% work in cafeterias inside hospitals, corporations, nursing homes, and universities. The remainder work in hotels, grocery stores, or other locations.