Archive for January, 2009

Cooking Up a Culinary Arts Career

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Andy West asked:


For those individuals who can take the heat, a culinary arts career is the best way to stay in the kitchen. Of all the careers to choose from, the culinary arts offer one of the most exciting, non-traditional work environments available. Those that have a passion for food preparation can be found sharing their gifts in the smallest of cafes to the best of world-class restaurants.

For a majority of the population, going out to eat is a very common occurrence. It is a chance to get out and socialize while being served a fine meal in a beautiful setting. Few stop to think that the meal set before them is the result of an advanced education in the science of cooking.

When taking up a career of cuisine and catering, many find there is more to the picture than that of just making delicious dishes. The culinary arts and its unconventional work environment provides for many specific job tasks that aren’t typically found in the average office setting. Not only is there accounting and grocery inventory, there is combustion issues and knife safety to think about.

However, the culinary arts career is quickly becoming more and more popular as the restaurant industry rapidly expands. From hospitals to high-end resorts, the call for restaurant, institutional and even short order cooks is loud and clear. While working in a kitchen requires utmost professionalism, it is also a place where one can be truly creative at the same time.

With the number of specializations that branch out of a culinary career, many individuals take great pleasure in being able to fine-tune their occupation to their own preferences. For example, while some may opt to become a restaurant cook they can further opt to become a restaurant cook that specializes in Japanese cooking. Others my become pastry chefs or chefs that focus on macrobiotic dishes.

Getting an education in culinary arts is especially important for those who own their own eateries. Learning how to run an efficient kitchen is a must if a restaurant venture is to be not only successful but also profitable. One must also know how to competently manage employees while providing a safe and ethical work environment. These concepts are regularly taught in the classroom.

Another occupation on the rise in the culinary arts is that of a personal chef. What was a somewhat unheard of position ten years ago is now becoming one of the most in-demand careers. Hired to make delicious, health conscious meals personal chefs can find themselves richly rewarded both in job satisfaction and earning power.

Food and equipment safety issues make getting a culinary degree quite necessary for those wanting to work in a kitchen. While there may be some entry-level positions in institutions, they are few and do not offer any type of culinary freedom. Duties are often limited to clean up.

Becoming the head or executive chef of a restaurant requires extensive training. However, many culinary graduates opt to work entry-level positions and combine their training with their experience and work their way up. The chance to be head of a renowned restaurant is the dream of a lifetime for many culinary buffs.

When training for a culinary arts career, students will find themselves putting their knowledge to use in a hands-on environment. By opting for an accredited program, financial aid is often available to help diminish the financial burden of getting a proper education. This can help get the ball rolling and put students right into the kitchen just where they’ve always wanted to be.



Ruby
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Does anyone in the Culinary Arts field have any suggestions as far as career choices in this field?

Saturday, January 24th, 2009
sweetart09 asked:


I know some may be saying, why not just search it yourself?! But, it’s nothing like “hearing from the horse’s mouth”. I want to hear about it from someone with experience.

Feel free to relate your experiences, your likes/dislikes about whatever profession you’re in under Culinary Arts!

Matthew

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Arts Culinary School in Atlanta:

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Annabell Amaretto asked:


Atlanta is among the chief areas of United States, wherein numerous arts culinary schools are located. It is an ideal destination for individuals who want to study the culinary art. It is not an astonishing fact anymore that people from all over the world come here to learn the tricks and gain expertise in culinary skills. Schools located in this part of the world offer study programs that vary in cost and in requirements. Few culinary schools have expensive fee structures. But, then they provide quality education which makes Atlanta stand apart from other culinary schools.

The Culinary Institute In Atlanta:

This art culinary institute in Atlanta is the best school an individual can attend to. It offers novel advances towards the culinary education. The curriculum covers the international recipes and food proficiencies from all over the world. Various professionals from the cuisine world formulate the course study of this school. Nutrition and Safety are the motives that form the foundation of any basic study here. Different kitchen operations, catering management, cost control and supervision of food are the skills taught here. Various superior baking, culinary arts, catering and pie concentration techniques are taught to the students by skilled faculties. Apart from this, student is taught about how to handle customer service and beverage sections. The emphasis is more in attaining expertise in different American, traditional and international food forms.

The students from this school participate in various competitions that are held more often. The institute offers exceptional facilities in terms of lodging and other modern amenities. The accreditation is given by ACF (American Culinary Federation) that awards the CPC (Certified Pastry Culinarian) and CC (Certified Culinarian) on the successful completion of the arts degree. The institute also offers one of its kind paid 1 year membership upon the completion of graduation. The culinary art school also has 3 programs of Traditional, Plus and Online Courses using which a student can earn their degree, which is exclusively custom made to suit the schedule of the students.

Career Prospects:

Students passing out of this culinary Institute in Atlanta gain direct entry as chefs, cook, baking trainee, catering aide in various restaurants, hotels and in food catering companies. With further expertise in the profession students become head chefs, pastry chefs and can open their own restaurants. Moreover, there are prosperous opportunities in Atlanta that houses more than 8,000 restaurants. The culinary art school in Atlanta offers exceptional dining skills, which is full in terms of experience of flavor, aroma as well as presentation.



Anna
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do you have to go to a collage first before you can go to a culinary arts instutiuate?

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
snowflakebunny123 asked:


can you just go to a culinary arts school right after you graduatie or do you have to go to a normal collage first? Plus can you major in culinary arts. Sorry but last question, do you guys know any good culinary arts schools?

Allison
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What are the different types of degrees that a person can get in culinary arts?

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Cathia asked:


This is part of a school assignment and I really don’t have much time left for it because I had to covince my teacher that culinary arts is an actual art.

Juanita
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Hone Your Culinary Cooking Skills and Talent at a Culinary Arts College or University

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
James Murray asked:


A successful culinary arts student will require a dash of hard work and a pinch of talent to make a great recipe for a career in the wonderful world of cooking. A fast-paced cooking environment that will require culinary arts students to obtain knowledge quickly and study hard to retain a good amount of information in a very short period of time to accomplish their goals. A cooking profession that revolves around a kitchen environment, there are many colleges and universities around the world that offer degrees and certificate programs to prepare and solve a students career challenge. For the students culinary career, they will learn various skills and cooking techniques while studying the art of cooking. Students in culinary arts can choose from a variety of different cooking programs, also various specialties, and these different specialties have unique techniques and skills necessary for a students career.

Specific types of chefs and their specialties are the order of authority, and are typical in a restaurant kitchen environment. An executive chef has the highest position in the restaurant, and his/her responsibility is in the planning and preparation of the food and meals that are being served to their customers. A typical executive chefs duty is to create a menu, make sure the quality of the food is up to standard and deciding how much food is required for the service. Food preparation and managing a staff are some of the skills students will have to learn and acquire, if their goal is to become an executive chef.

In restaurants, directly supervised by an executive chef, most times, are sous-chefs and they will assist executive chefs with their daily restaurant duties, requesting food and kitchen supplies, planning the restaurant menu. Some of the responsibilities of the sous-chefs are to teach new skills and techniques to a kitchen staff. Supervision of other kitchen personnel such as specialty chefs and cooks are a sous-chefs responsibility. While students study at culinary colleges and universities to become the next future sous-chefs, they will have to learn different cooking techniques and also teaching skills.

Specialty chefs also work in kitchens, and they can specialize in many areas of food including all the meat classes like beef, veal, lamb, poultry and fish to other areas from appetizers to pastries. Specialty chefs will prepare total and complete meals, to decorative food trays, and food garnishes for presentations to customers of the restaurant. Specialty chefs will help supervise other cooks and various staff members in the restaurant kitchen. At culinary arts colleges and universities, students who would like to become specialty chefs will study and learn about all the various aspects and techniques in cooking where they can make a decision on their specific specialty while at college or university.

Part of the professional kitchen staff are normal cooks who do most of the grunt work in regards to the cooking in kitchen restaurants. Cooks will prepare complete meals and then supervise other staff and help in the kitchens. It is a team effort from all kitchen staff to make a restaurant successful. Executive chefs and sous-chefs will start their culinary career as a kitchen cook in restaurants or other cooking locations, and it is usually one of the first steps into a successful culinary career once a student graduates from a culinary arts college or university.

To become aspiring professional chefs in this competitive world, students will prepare and learn all about the various aspects of culinary cooking. The proper techniques in cooking different types of foods, learn what food ingredients compliment one another and more. One of the most important parts of cooking is food safety and food safe courses are taken to make the cooking process food safe. Learn how to prepare food safely, learn proper cooking temperatures for various types of foods and the nutritional benefits, health aspects of different types of foods. Students have to know while preparing food, what is in the foods and how it will affect certain types of people with different health risks.

While fine tuning their cooking skills that students already possess, students at culinary colleges and universities will learn all about these important aspects of the art of cooking.



Darryl
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How can I get my bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts?

Monday, January 12th, 2009
Stevi_B asked:


I am recently at Community college but it only offers an associates degree. I want more. Does anyone know of a culinary art school that offers a bachelors ao higher?

Tony
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do you think a person who studied culinary arts can rely soley on that to open a catering bussiness?

Friday, January 9th, 2009
merly asked:


Thinking about my future, I’m interested in studying journalism and taking on culinary arts and opening a catering bussiness later on.

Bonnie
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culinary arts degree which is the best to get?

Thursday, January 8th, 2009
kissypup asked:


I have a friend that wants to go to college for culinary arts.
Which college would be the best? He was thinking Le Cordon Bleu.
Also what degree would be better a certificate or an AAS?

Rosa
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Cooking As A Culinary Art

Thursday, January 8th, 2009
John Morris asked:


Culinary arts is the art of cooking. Cooking is a way to prepare food that will be eaten or served to other people.

The culinary arts is comprised of many categories - some of which are tools, methods, combination of spices and ingredients that adds flavour to the food. It normally needs the right measurements, proper selection and accurate combination of ingredients involved to reach desired result.

The diversity of the Culinary arts around the world mirrors many considerations such as:

- Economic - Aesthetic - Nutritional - Religious - Cultural

1. The Dawn Of Fire

The culinary arts, if not always, is associated with fire. The heat generated by fire is oftentimes required to be applied to be able to change the food’s texture, flavour, nutritional contents and even its appearance. Heating is important in the culinary arts because it disinfects the food and makes it softer. The food danger zone is between 4 to 60 degrees Celsius. Within these temperatures, the bacteria found in the found or even those that were transferred to the food can grow at a very alarming rate. Under ideal conditions bacteria can double their population every twenty minutes. Although at a glance, these foods may not appear harmful, when ingested they can be. Many people have the misconception that bacteria will die when we freeze our food or refrigerate them, but this actually does not rid the food of bacteria, merely it slows down their expansion.

2. Baking

Baking is probably the most famous department in the culinary arts. In the culinary arts, baking is the art of cooking food using an oven. The food is cooked through applying dry heat evenly through the oven and onto the food. It is used in producing pastry based goodies such as pies, tarts and cakes. The dry heat in the oven causes the starch to gelatinize and results to the browning or charring of the outside of the food. Some uneducated in the culinary arts might think that the charred part or the brown part is not as tasty as it sounds, but this part is actually what gives taste and flavour to the baked good, partly sealing the moisture of the food. The browning apparent in the baked good is caused by the sugar caramelizing and the chemical reaction that happens between the reduction of sugar and the amino acid (Maillard reaction). Moisture in the baked goody, on the other hand, is not really completely kept in, in time as the goody is being baked it will become drier and drier.

3. Boiling

Another category is boiling. Boiling is when there is a rapid vaporization of any liquid when the liquid is heated. In cooking, boiling is divided into many other categories. Blanching, a cooking term used to describe the submersion of food into boiling water and removing it after a certain period of time and then throwing it into cold water or letting water run over it causing the firming of food. Pressure cooking is when food is cooked inside an enclosed cooking tool that would limit the air that’s coming in or going out of that tool - this technique speeds up the pace of cooking. Stewing would probably be the most popular cooking technique in the culinary arts division. It is a method where meats are cut up into smaller pieces and along with some vegetables are simmered into a liquid. Simmering, then again is a cooking method where the liquid is barely kept away from its boiling point. Other boiling techniques are braising, codding, steaming, infusion, poaching, double steaming, steeping and vacuum flask cooking.

4. Other

To most Americans, microwaving and grilling are the most common forms of cooking. Microwaving is the easiest and simplest form of cooking; it is a technique used mostly to reheat sumptuous meals ready to be consumed. And for grilling, most Americans have a grill station in their backyard. Grilling is a roasting method that is cooking directly under a source of heat. Other roasting methods are Barbecuing, Searing and Rotisserie. A less common method is smoking meat, or even salting it.



Ronnie
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