Maybe y'all can help her...

[culinarian247]

I have a friend who works the front desk at my job. She wants to move into being in food and beverage. She has a BS in Hotel Management (from U of Houston). She asked me if she should go to culinary school and get her associate degree or just complete a certificate program.

My answer to her was to get a job as a cook and do a certificate program. From there get promoted to sous chef and then chef de cuisine. With that experience as a chef, a certificate and a bachelors degree in hospitality she'd be set for something. I don't think having an associates at her education level is going to afford her any more of a boost up the food and beverage ladder.

Maybe I have misled her and I don't wanna give the wrong advice. I also said she should talk to some of my instructors from school. I don't know how far she wants to go in the industry but if she wanted to to be a director or something, the bachelors will be key. That's why I suggested that she pursue the certificate. My belief is that if she applied for a director job and was currently a chef de cuisine she'd be ok without the associates.

Please tell me that I didn't lead her in the wrong direction.

Please.

[ccase39]

Your advice was right on. An associates degree would probably be a waist of time but tell her to check with different schools to see about transfer credits. At J&w she could probably get an associates in the same time frame that it takes to get a certificate if most of her credits transfer.

[Suzanne]

Yup. I got an AOS (Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management) after already having a BA and an MBA, and believe me, have I ever gotten the third degree. What she really needs is experience and contacts -- much more like to get those from working and a shorter course where the instructors are really professionals.

[Greg]

I suppose someone should ask her what her eventual goal is regarding career path. Does she want to be a chef or a F&B director? Not to say it can't be done by going to culinary school, but most F&B directors I've worked for have come through the front of the house, either by on-the job training or a F&B management course program.

One way or the other, she'll need some pretty extensive front experience in both banquets and a la carte.