Is Culinary School really that important?

School is not as important as you may think, especially for something like Culinary.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to go to school and learn all the various tricks and tips, as well as gain the experience of working in a “real” kitchen. My girlfriend goes to Culinary school and is in her second semester now. She has learned a lot of various things including the various terms, how to use spices, and every thursday they had an actual lunch where outside people from the city could come in and have a 3 course lunch. It teaches them how to work fast in a limited time frame and make sure people are happy not only with the taste, but the presentation and speed.

Of course, you don’t need this to get a good job. If you have not worked in the food industry at all yet, then college will help you get your foot in the door, as employers will be more inclined to hire someone who has a degree then someone who has nothing. Of course, if you have experience already, you are more likely to get in without a degree, but a degree will help in giving you that extra push.

It’s all about how motivated you are. If you are not feeling Culinary school because you are just lazy, then you won’t find a good job anyways. If you are just not feeling it because you feel constricted, can’t learn the way they are teaching you and so on, then maybe going your own way is the right thing for you. If you are a motivated, smart individual then you can do whatever you want, it just takes a lot of hard work and time.

To get a job as a chef, you have to be a good cook, you have to be able to manage a restaurant kitchen, and you have to be able to communicate with the restaurant cooking staff in terms they understand. Culinary school is one way to make parts of that goal easier.

And whether it’s necessary to find a “decent” job—like any such question, it depends on how you define decent. Look at people who are working jobs you find “decent” and see how many of them have been to culinary school.

No culinary school is not necessary, as cwilbur said you just need to be a good cook. It really depends also on what type of place you want to work in. I went to culinary school for my highschool. I then went and worked in an little Italian restaurant. So for me what I learned wasnt really needed for the job, it just gave me a little edge because i knew more about foods. Its really up to you how hard you want to work in the future. If you decide to go through with schooling everything will be much easier. Its your choice. Good luck.

I worked my way from prep to comis chef to chef de cuisine them to doing all of the administrative stuff just by working at a good restaurant and learning from my chef. Most chefs I found are disgusted with people out of culinary school because they aren’t flexible and they are taught that everything has one way. The best thing to do is find a good place with a good reputation and hold staige position, unless you are attending school at C.I.A then stick with it. What city are u in I have good advice on restaurants.

I worked my way from prep to comis chef to chef de cuisine them to doing all of the administrative stuff just by working at a good restaurant and learning from my chef. Most chefs I found are disgusted with people out of culinary school because they aren’t flexible and they are taught that everything has one way. The best thing to do is find a good place with a good reputation and hold staige position, unless you are attending school at C.I.A then stick with it. What city are u in I have good advice on restaurants.

I’m in Waterloo Ontario. I go to Conestoga College, my teacher is Chef Phillippe Saraiva, he’s pretty awesome and extremely flexible if we bring an idea other than what he’s taught he he’ll test it out. it’s pretty cool.