Online Food Preparation & Professional Cooking Degrees
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See All AnswersIf you enjoy not only helping to sustain humankind on a daily basis, but also the potential to create noteworthy art at the same time, food prep and professional cooking might just be the ideal career for you. People depend on food to fuel their lives each day, and cooks provide for that need several times daily. However, professional cooking, sometimes known as the culinary arts, offers the opportunity to transcend every food preparation and concoct something remarkable.
Working in the field of food exposes you to a variety of culinary genres, from salads and aperitifs to main dishes and desserts. The restaurant is the best-known bastion of the food preparation professional. However, the making of food takes place in myriad environments away from the formal kitchen, such as stores, schools, and even hospitals. There is a hierarchy throughout the food profession; you'll likely start off peeling potatoes and sweeping up before creating a souffle that wins awards and builds celebrity chef status.
Working environments in this industry can vary immensely. Some kitchens are immaculate and state-of-the-art, featuring ample working space and delightfully helpful equipment. Other kitchens may be far less accommodating in terms of space to move, and their lack of great equipment translates into much more elbow grease required from the kitchen staff. Time and quality are equally important in this line of work. Guests want their food cooked to perfection, and they want it five minutes ago. Peak hours in a kitchen can be hot and frenetic, and only those with an inner calm and great communication skills do well. Local laws also determine much of what happens inside a kitchen, and must be adhered to closely.
This is not a profession for those who can't deal with tough work. Weekends, holidays, and 5am-11pm working hours are the norm. Only those with real love for what goes on the plate manage to keep their culinary passion stoked long enough for an entire career.
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| School | School Type | Annual Tuition | Recommend Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashworth College | For-Profit | --- | 71% (59 reviews) |
What are some of the specializations within this degree program?
- Chefs: This position is the top of the pile, frequently known as "head chef." These are the pros who devise the recipes, whose names earn top billing on the marquee outside the restaurant, and who are the head honchos.
- Cooks: Below chefs rank these workers, those who do the bulk of the cooking work. Manifold varieties of cooks exist, their exact job title frequently referencing their specific duty in the kitchen (i.e., fry cook, grill cook).
- Food Preparation Workers: These professional workers are the least experienced of the three; their days consist primary of rudimentary tasks like slicing the vegetables or cleaning the cutlery.
What degree levels are available?
- Culinary School: 6 months-3 years to complete
- Culinary Apprenticeship: 2 years to complete
What are the educational and certification requirements?
The majority of those working in the food prep and professional cooking industry earned their education via on-the-job training. Nevertheless, high school education is typically considered to be the minimum academic requirement for a professional to escalate into higher ranking culinary positions. The best of both worlds would be a high school student who takes advantage of vocational training programs while earning their degree. Parents should check with their local school district to discover worthwhile programs available for their budding chef-to-be. In order to truly fulfill your potential as a food professional, your training needs to continue after high school. Culinary school is the ideal method to pick up a refined technique that will help you land and keep jobs in food.
An apprenticeship program combines comprehensive learning in the classroom with practical, hands-on implementation of that learning in an actual job setting. Both the United States Department of Labor and the American Culinary Federation can provide you with worthwhile apprenticeships that last up to two years. Certification, while not a requirement for this industry, can support your career, as is available via the ACF. (United States Department of Labor, American Culinary Foundation, BLS)
What kinds of classes will I be expected to take?
- Knife Work: This is one of the first courses you will pass through in culinary education. Two primary concepts are "talliage," or the perfect and precise cutting of vegetables into uniform shapes, and "tournage," which teaches you how to create your own shapes in food using a knife.
- Soups, Sauces, and Stocks: Another culinary fundamental, a course like this one teaches you where many great recipes find their roots. You will learn the five mother sauces, how to make a bouquet garni, and prepare a rich velouté.
- Proteins: Poultry, beef, and pork are important ingredients for many recipes, and you'll learn how to master their preparation here. This class also encompasses work in fish and shellfish.
- Pastry Technique: In all honesty, those who want to specialize in pastry arts can find fully fledged programs exclusively dedicated to the desserts. Nevertheless, all culinary students will undergo at least one class in this technique, exposing them to pâte feuilletée, pâte à choux, and perhaps even baked Alaska.
- Catering and Buffet: At some point in your culinary education, you will likely take a class themed on how to cater a large meal or buffet. Expect having to cooking for 50 or more guests and to be tested on all of your culinary skills thus far attained.
Is on-site training required if I pursue this degree online?
You will likely have to complete some on-site training via an online culinary program if you would like your degree to help you get a job in a restaurant. Many online programs do not feature such an in-person component, making them less suitable for this industry.
What are some other degrees that are related to this program?
- Hospitality and Restaurant Management: This degree is ideal for those who recognize the relationship between hotels and haute cuisine. Housekeeping, bookkeeping, and keeping food fresh are all apart of this field of study.
- Professional Catering: Those looking to become whizzes at supporting weddings and dinner parties should consider this field. Marketing and sales are also important components of this field.
- Beverage Management: This major focuses on business aspects of bars and wineries in the industry.
- Business: This is an ideal option for someone looking to establish their own restaurant. Entrepreneurship and marketing are specialties highly applicable to professional cooking.
- MBA: A Master of Business Administration degree can heighten your skills of restaurant management. Financial planning and leadership of some of the skills it can build.
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In general, persons in this job may have a formal education, while others don't and still get ahead. Formal education can be done at a community college, technical school or culinary arts institute that can take anywhere from 2 to 4 years to complete. Another option is to attend either an independent cooking school or a professional culinary institute.
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