Do you get excited every time you step foot in the kitchen? Did you know that you could turn your passion for cooking, baking, or pastry making into a professional career by attending culinary arts school?
Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been cooking for years, studying at a school of culinary arts can help expand your skills and experience in the kitchen. In-class teaching from industry professionals, paired with a hands-on training and a culinary externship, means enrolling in a culinary arts program could be your ticket towards pursuing an exciting career in the food industry.
Just think, with a year’s worth of professional training, you could soon earn your culinary diploma. So, we’ve created a guide to what you can learn, the different culinary routes into the industry available, and how to kick-start your career once you’ve graduated.
Learn more about Dorsey College’s Culinary program today!
Getting started in the culinary arts field
There are several benefits to attending a culinary arts school. For starters, studying in a culinary arts training program exposes you to the different culinary disciplines you could choose to pursue.
After all, each of these specialties can draw upon your individual skills and attributes. Whether you’re passionate about experimenting with different cooking styles or using your creative flair to create culinary masterpieces like baked goods and desserts.
Ultimately, enrolling at a school of culinary arts can provide a base to launch your career in the catering industry or culinary industry as you cover the key essentials, including:
- Culinary fundamentals including mise en place and proper knife cuts
- Varied cooking methods, styles, and approaches
- Innovative and artistic food presentation
- Delivering food with the expected standards of professionalism
What you can learn in a culinary arts program
Learning from trained industry professionals is often the fastest way to develop your culinary skill set. At culinary arts school, trade experts can teach you the fundamentals skills, along with providing you with a few industry secrets along the way.
Starting with the basics, you can learn first-hand about:
- Selecting and preparing ingredients
- Food nutrition
- Knife skills and sharpening
- Food safety and sanitation
- Cooking styles and presentation
- Time management and teamwork
As you continue to expand your knowledge and experience, your confidence in the kitchen can increase, allowing you to become more experimental or hone in on a chosen specialty. For example, you could master the art of braising, sauteing, roasting, and grilling.
Alternatively, if you discovered a love of baking and pastry making, you can concentrate on bread making or creating cakes, pastries, and confectionery.
Success in a culinary arts school!
If there is one thing every chef or baker will tell you – it’s that ‘practice makes perfect.’ Now, nowhere is that more relevant than in a school of culinary arts program.
While the essential skills of how to cook or bake can be taught… it’s on culinary externships where students like you can begin to perfect the culinary arts. Whether it’s working in a bakery or a professional kitchen, the opportunity to practice your skills in a real-time environment can help you shine.
Working closely in a supervised culinary environment alongside skilled professionals not only helps you correct mistakes, but it can also expand your ability to grasp new skills and techniques. Additionally, once you’ve graduated from culinary arts school, this experience can be vital in helping you secure your first job in the industry.
Where you could go with your career in the culinary arts
Gaining a comprehensive culinary education while attending a school of culinary arts can help you stand out when applying for entry-level jobs in the industry, too. With so many vocational paths you might choose to pursue, you could secure your first cooking job after graduation at a:
- Local restaurant
- Catering agency
- Country club or sports stadium
- Hotel or aboard a cruise ship
- School, college, and university
While many culinary arts school graduates become line cooks and Sous chefs, there are a number of exciting avenues outside of the kitchen that might also appeal. For instance, with your culinary education, you might also choose to embark on a career as a:
- Social media blogger and influencer
- Kitchen manager
- Restaurant owner
Take the first step today with Dorsey College’s culinary arts program!
If you’ve always dreamed of turning your love of cooking and creative flair for food into a career, then enrolling in Dorsey College’s Culinary Arts program could help you achieve that dream. At Dorsey College, our industry-expert chefs and bakers are here to help you master the skills for a successful food and catering career.
Here at Dorsey College, our culinary arts program incorporates classroom instruction at our Roseville, Michigan campus (a branch campus of Madison Heights) and closely supervised practical training on a culinary externship program.
With as little as 12 months of training, you too could be embarking on an amazing career!
Dorsey College is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education. This applies to the Roseville campus, which is a branch campus of Madison Heights. The Culinary Arts program at Dorsey College is accredited by The Accrediting Commission of the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF).
