Culinary Arts Career – What are Your Options?

The field of culinary arts is without a doubt a fast-growing industry.  It has always been popular; but with today’s “celebrity” culture, people are more aware of the existence of chefs.  As a result, more and more people are pursuing a career in this industry.  They are seeing this field as a feasible one.  More and more colleges and universities are offering degrees and training programs to people who are interested in pursuing a culinary arts career.

Choosing Your Path

A career in the culinary field comes in many forms.  There are many areas to choose from.  One can always choose from among its many fields depending on his or her interest.   Perhaps, you are interested with cooking haute cuisine.  Perhaps, you like baking and you dream of becoming a pastry chef.  The possibilities are positively endless.  Every field offers its own challenges.  You need to take your time to consider what culinary arts career path you would like to pursue.  Make sure that you end up with a choice that would suit and fulfill you for a long time to come.

Choosing from Among the Different Areas

There are actually four areas that you can choose from.  First, you can choose to work at any restaurant and take on a restaurant-related position.  Usually, this type of culinary arts career involves food service.  You will often find people working in this particular field.  Restaurant positions vary depending on the needs of a particular restaurant.  A big establishment would require several employees while a smaller establishment would need a smaller number of employees.  There are operations with multiple outlets.  You will likely find corporate jobs in these businesses.  Accordingly, your interest may vary.  You could end up working as a chef.  Perhaps, you would qualify as a manager.

You can also pursue a culinary arts career in hotels and restaurants.  This industry is growing fast, and careers in this industry are also growing in number and variety.  This is the reason why more and more people are joining this industry.  The numbers of jobs are growing in this field.

If you don’t want to work in a restaurant, hotel or resort, you can always choose to work as a personal chef.  There are a lot of people who are working for a number of clients only, cooking for them and preparing their meals daily.  There are many people who are securing the service of a personal chef.  You can always choose to work privately.  This can be a feasible culinary arts career for you as well.

Image Source: pitiri.com; wired.com

Understanding the Importance of Your Restaurant Menu

If you run a restaurant, you need to make sure that you have the best menu that you can afford.  Of course, “best” does not mean expensive.  It means effective.  Indeed, your menu is one of your marketing and sales tools.  You have to make sure that when your customer sees it, it will influence them to buy.  It should be design to entice customers.  This is to ensure maximum profits for you and your restaurant.  If you really want to sell everything in your menu, you have to make sure that your menu presents every product favorably and enticingly. 

Your Restaurant’s Menu and Your Profits

The first thing that you have to understand is this – every item on your restaurant menu is distinct in its saleability, so do not expect Product A to sell like Product B.  If Product A is selling like pancakes, wouldn’t it be wise to emphasize the product?  If Product A is selling for $20 dollars and Product B is selling for $10, wouldn’t you earn more if more people buy Product A?  As you can see, placing emphasis on a product that you would like to sell can make a lot of difference on your profit.

Of course, you can draw your customers’ attention to Product A if you would use your menu well.  This is why your menu plays a very crucial role in selling your items.  It also pays if your staff understands this as well.  This way they can encourage customers to avail of Product A if a customer seeks for their opinion. 

Creating a Wonderful Restaurant Menu

They say, do not judge a book by its cover.  Perhaps, that is true – for books.  This is not the case, however, when it comes to menu.  People will judge your products by your menu and its cover.  You have to make sure that your graphics and images can entice your customers to buy.  Your menu should get your customers to think, “Oh, this looks delicious!”

If you have to spend a significant amount of money on your menu, then do so.  Your menu is an investment.  It speaks to your customers and tells them whether or not a particular dish is worth ordering or not.  You have to plan your menu carefully.  You have to devote time on choosing the right colors, images, materials and designs.  Do not take your menu for granted and never commit the mistake of presenting a haphazardly-created restaurant menu.

Image Source:  calexicocart.com