Culinary Arts Degree Programs

Is a campus or online culinary arts degree for you? They are if you answer 'yes' to the following questions. Do you enjoy cooking? Do you want to add some spice to your career?

Do you enjoy watching cooking shows and fixing delicious meals for your friends and family? Does everyone comment on your talent? Through culinary training, you will gain the skills that you need to become a chef or great cook. Professionals with culinary arts degrees can hold positions where they are in charge of a specific area of cooking, to Executive Chefs responsible for everything related to the kitchen, menus, and business concerns in restaurants rated anywhere from one to five stars. Culinary school will prepare you for a rewarding career in creating dishes and meals for people. Locate at culinary and cooking college degree programs in your area. You can search for Culinary Arts Programs both online and on campus from accredited colleges and universities. You can learn to cook for a roomful of guests with culinary training by learning the latest in food trends and preparation techniques through various cooking classes.

Culinary Arts Education and Training

Some employers don't require any formal culinary training preparation for a career but if you want to head to the top as the head chef, formal training is a big plus. Why not be the one in charge? Many programs offer specialty food careers focusing on regional cooking or a specific style of cooking, including: Baking and Pastry Arts, Wine and Spirits Studies, Restaurant and Catering Management, Professional Cooking. In addition an internship would be required so as to gain experience in culinary arts careers. Some specializations in culinary arts are:

• Food service Management
• Baking and Pastry
• Chef Training

Specific courses in chef training depending on different schools but may include:

• Professional Cooking
• Culinary Nutrition
• Basic Food Preparation
• Food and Beverages Industry
• Sanitation and Safety for Managers
• Applied Visual Principles
• Personal Health
• Applied Math for Culinary Arts
• Pastry and Baking
• Menu Planning and Design
• Inventory Control and Purchasing
• Regional and International Cuisine
• Computing
• La Carte Cooking
• Restaurant Management and Supervision
• Culinary Arts Career Planning
• Expository Writing
• Vineyards and Beverages
• Restaurant Layout and Interior Design
• Internship or Externship - Work Experience

Culinary Arts Careers

Culinary arts is a creativity-based profession based on cooking and preparing food for guests. This caters to clientele from the small "mom and pop cafe" down the street, to the five star hotel restaurant downtown. With a culinary arts degree you would cater to a wide array of tastes and culture and you can become a specialist for example in pastry, or cultural cuisine.

In your career, you will often interact with people therefore interpersonal skills are important. You will learn about different food preparation techniques, plate presentation and food safety guidelines through culinary training programs. You can explore your creative side and try your hand at cooking many new dishes with culinary classes.

Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) is a culinary institute that offers programs in culinary arts degree training within the fields of Culinary Arts, Patisserie/Pastry and Baking, Hospitality Management, and Restaurant Management. You will gain a wide variety of skills in practical cooking, large-scale catering, menu planning, food and wine pairing, French cuisine and pastry-making.

You can also expect to take courses in management, communications, and basic accounting/record keeping as as to be able to handle all aspects of restaurant operations if you enrolling in a BA in the Hospitality Management or Culinary Arts Management program. Culinary careers may include:

• Baking and Pastry
• Wine Studies
• Catering Management
• Culinary Arts
• Culinary Management
• Hospitality Management
• Restaurant Management

Estimated Income and Projected Career Outlook

Chefs and cooks can expect to earn anywhere from $7.00 to $25.00 an hour. The U.S. Department of Labor, provides the median hour wage for chefs and head cooks at around $15.00 an hour. The median hourly wage for private household chefs and restaurant cooks is around $10.00 an hour. Statistics indicate that a beginning chef may earn 28,000- $35,000 a year.

Wages are higher in four and five start restaurants and hotels in larger cities and towns. Job openings for chefs, cooks and food preparation workers will continue to be plentiful. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the jobs will increase between 9% to 17% through 2014. Competition for those with a culinary arts degree will be more for jobs in top kitchens of high-end restaurants.

Online culinary arts degree programs and the hospitality industry