Is Cooking School for You

If you find yourself cooking for friends, being asked to cook a special dish for a family gathering, cooking in your spare time just for the fun of it, or heading for the cookbook aisle of the local library or book store, then cooking school may be your cup of tea. Take the initiative and get started on the road to becoming a chef.

Even if you do love to cook, this doesn't mean it will be easy studying to be a chef. Like any career, it takes stamina, perseverance, and dedication to the culinary arts. The first thing to do is research the different cooking schools available to you. Cooking schools teach all the different aspects of cooking from main courses to pastries and desserts. Certifications or Bachelor Degrees are given on completion of the cooking program.


Culinary Institute of America offers certification to those who demonstrate expertise and proficiency in their cooking skills. Bachelor Degree Programs are offered from Johnson and Wales University, Stratford University, and Baltimore International College. These are just a few of the many noted cooking schools. Be proactive in your search for the cooking school that fits your needs.

Once you have decided upon the cooking school that is right for you, prepare yourself mentally. Even though you enjoy cooking for yourself and others, cooking school takes a lot of intense study and long days. The responsibilities of being a chef can be daunting. Every time a chef prepares a meal, pastry, or entrée, he or she is being judged by the people dining, so the cooking school instructors will be even harsher with you. A chef needs to be thick skinned, accepting the negative comments from diners, as well as the praise. It is difficult at times, to remain calm, trying to prepare the perfect dinner. The cooking school will try to prepare you for these types of confrontations; especially, if cooking for a well known restaurant in the future. Diners expect perfection.

While attending cooking school, try to find a job in a bakery or small restaurant. This will give you experience being around a dining atmosphere, and you will become familiar with the responsibilities involved in being a chef. Even working as a waiter or waitress keeps you up with meal preparation, serving, and the current trends in food preparation. Experience with the people dining is as important as learning to cook. Check the reactions of patrons to the way meals are served, cooked, and presented on the plate. There is a wealth of knowledge to gain from working first hand at some type of food service while attending cooking school.

As you attend cooking school, you will develop confidence in your cooking skills. The sense of accomplishment as you meet the challenges of meal preparation will make all the hard work worthwhile. Being a chef is a never ending quest for knowledge, new cooking techniques, people skills, and bold, creative ways of preparing foods. If you decide cooking school is for you, take your passion for cooking to the next level.