Pursuing a Culinary Arts Career

Culinary arts have always been associated with cooking.  Perhaps, like everyone else, you often conjure an image of a chef with a huge hat when you hear the term “culinary”.  This is inevitable with more and more people pursuing a culinary arts degree just so they can become professional chefs one day.  Fortunately, there are many schools and universities today that offer culinary arts career courses, so there is no reason why you won’t be able to pursue a degree and have a shot at becoming a chef.  Of course, there are different kinds of chefs working in various fields.  Your choice will ultimately depend on your preferences.

Chefs have always been around for a number of years.  They have been cooking in restaurants, hotels, resorts and private homes for years and years.  Contrary to the general perception, however, it is not easy to become a professional chef.  The whole process can be relatively demanding and exhausting.   You will have to be on your feet for hours.  You will be working graveyard shifts.  You will work on weekends and during the holidays.  Even if you end up as the head chef, you will have to work the same hours as your staff – perhaps, even longer.  You will have more responsibilities.  Of course, you don’t automatically become the head chef.  You will have to start at the bottom of the culinary ladder.  After all, there are different kinds of chefs.  You will have to spend a lot of time training and honing your craft before you can hit the higher rungs. 

There is more to becoming a chef than pursuing a degree.  To reach the top of the ladder, one needs to work hard.  If you are interested in pursuing a culinary arts career, you need to know what you are in for.  After completing a degree, you will likely find yourself working as an apprentice.  This is a very good thing if you want to learn more about the craft.  You will have to start out later as a prep chef, peeling onions and chopping tomatoes.

Once you have proven yourself, you will likely be promoted as line chef.  Of course, the rungs do not end there.  You need to continuously prove yourself in order to go up the ladder.  Perhaps, you will eventually become a sous chef or the executive chef.  If you work hard enough, you may soon find yourself holding the head chef or executive chef position in a very good restaurant.  Again, there are many kinds of chefs.  But to pursue a culinary arts career, you need a lot of hard work and determination.