Learn How to Cook More Efficiently

You may feel that you have a handle on how to cook amazing, delicious cuisine, but cooking at home is a far cry from working in a fast-paced commercial kitchen. Professionals chefs and bakers need to do more than cook well: they need to cook quickly.

In culinary school, you will learn techniques for everything from dicing vegetables to preparing roasted meats ahead of time to reduce stress when orders start to roll in.

Expand Your Culinary Awareness

Even if you love food, have traveled the world or live in a major city, it is impossible for you to have tasted all kinds of cuisine or be familiar with all kinds of ingredients. In culinary school, expect plenty of introductions to new ingredients and preparation styles. This can help you expand your culinary horizons or even meld two unique food types together into a style all your own.

Work Under Top Chefs

If you were to go straight into the culinary field without any formal education or training, you might end up with an entry-level position in a mediocre establishment.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with starting in that capacity, you may find yourself in a place where there are no expert chefs to learn from. In culinary school, you can spend time in the kitchen and the classroom with world-class chefs, culinary experts and lecturers who have a lot to share when it comes to all types of cuisine.

Increase Future Earning Potential

High school graduates earn more, over their lifetimes, than counterparts without a high school diploma. Similarly, those with a culinary degree at the college level will earn more, over their lifetimes, than those who opt to do without. Whether applying for your first job at a restaurant or aiming for a promotion after 15 years in the industry, a culinary degree translates to greater potential for higher salaries, making it a smart choice for anyone seeking financial stability today or in the future.

Increase Your Legitimacy in the Industry

Because of high turnover rates in the culinary industry as a whole, finding some type of employment is not usually a struggle. However, propelling your career from entry-level to anything higher can be challenging.

The number one tool at your disposal is a culinary degree, which can add a ton of legitimacy to your career and your skills. Leading with your education can often be a way to get your foot in the door with new and exciting opportunities in the culinary arts.

While a culinary degree is not a necessity, it can be an immensely valuable tool for anyone who wants to break into the culinary arts and find career success. Learn more about culinary arts degrees.

You’ll Learn Commercial Cooking

Caterers without a formal education in the culinary arts often miss out on learning about the fast pace of commercial cooking. Unlike when you are preparing food in your home kitchen, working in a fast-paced, commercial kitchen can be a challenge.

Conditions aren’t always ideal, you might be working in small quarters with several other people and the timeline can be rushed in order to get food out to guests as quickly as possible. All of these factors happen at catering events as well as in busy restaurant kitchens, so the best culinary arts programs will prepare students for the challenge.

You’ll Learn Hygiene and Safety Standards

Caterers often have to prepare foods in sterile kitchens and then transfer items to the venue, or they may need to prepare and cook food in an unfamiliar space. For that reason, it is vital that catering companies understand how to implement proper hygiene methods and safety standards.

If you plan on opening your own catering business, mastering this is perhaps the most important thing you can do in order to attract more customers and ensure that events go well without any staff problems or negative reviews from clients after the fact.

You’ll Learn About the Business Side of the Culinary Industry

Operating a catering business is about a lot more than just whipping up incredible food. It also requires owners to have plenty of business savvy. In order to be successful with a new catering company, you should understand how to budget for expenses, how to price food items per person, how many staff you’ll need to hire and even whether to incorporate as an LLC or an S-corporation.

A culinary arts school can provide you with courses and programs that cover these topics and set you up for success in the catering industry.

You’ll Learn About Advanced Preparation and Reheating Protocol

Because of limited space and time, as well as the fact that guests for weddings, parties and business events typically all need to be served their meals at the exact same time, caterers don’t often prepare all the food on site. Instead, much of the prep work is done in advance, and some foods are even cooked in advance and then reheated onsite.

Culinary arts programs can teach you how to reheat or preserve foods so that they remain safe to eat as well as delicious.

Attending a culinary school is a fantastic way for aspiring caterers to learn the ins and outs of operating their own catering business. Find out more about the degrees and certifications available through accredited culinary schools.