[alexthechef]

Culinary school isn't necessary?

I keep hearing two different sides.

Personally, I have 8 years of experience in kitchens at 24 years old. Should I go to culinary school? I'm planning on owning a restaurant, and making this a career far more intensely then anyone I really know. Any suggestions of school to attend if its actually worth it? What specific majors should I choose? 

OR

Should I just keep working in kitchens, and stage under some really awesome and successful chefs and learn that way?

Thanks!

 

[rpmiller]

Hi! Let me say, I was just creeping on this forum, saw your post, and felt really moved to make an account and give you my opinion. Culinary school is not necessary, but I am very glad I went. I have been in kitchens since I was 14, and did a vocational culinary program in high school, but I still went to college! Think about this, culinary school lets you make all the mistakes you could make in the professional world with little to no consequences, and, better yet, you learn from them! Restaurants are fast paced, and as much as school will try to pretend to be, it's not. But this allows you to slow down and really understand how things work and why. You also learn managerial skills that can be hard to get your manager /chef to teach you. However, school is expensive, I get that, but don't rule out community college. Sometimes a degree is just that accent on your resume that pushes you over other candidates so you won't have to work from the bottom every where you go. I highly recommend you look up Schoolcraft college. It is a community college outside Detroit. I moved from near Chicago just to go here. It is a diamond in the ruff. Cheap tuition, most master chefs per student ratio wise than any school in the country. Brian Polcyn teaches here (wrote books with Michael Ruhlman), master pastry chefs, chefs who have gone into the culinary olympics. I really can not speak highly enough of the quality of education I received and I have minimal debt. So sorry if I rambled, but hope I helped.

 

[steaktartare]

Disclaimer: I'm 100% amateur with no experience.

That said: chef != restauranteur. Knowing how to cook is difficult, and managing a business is even more, and these two roles are not related. I believe very few people in the world can be a very good chef AND a very good restauranteur based on talent alone and - sorry to say - 8 years of kitchen experience only.

So if you wanna run your own restaurant, while you might be already qualified to cook, in your shoes I would invest in some restaurant management course. Or consider an experienced partner to focus on business while you focus on kitchen.

Good luck!

 

[panini]

Disclaimer: I'm 100% amateur with no experience.

That said: chef != restauranteur. Knowing how to cook is difficult, and managing a business is even more, and these two roles are not related. I believe very few people in the world can be a very good chef AND a very good restauranteur based on talent alone and - sorry to say - 8 years of kitchen experience only.

So if you wanna run your own restaurant, while you might be already qualified to cook, in your shoes I would invest in some restaurant management course. Or consider an experienced partner to focus on business while you focus on kitchen.

Good luck!

Well Steak is almost on the right track. If you go to culinary school and you plan to own something one day, you really need to back up the culinary with a business minor or major. Quite a few chef/owners don't make it because they don't have the business skills. I almost disagree that there would be a need for management school. Management can be learned in your working environment. You can't learn bookkeeping and such while on the job. At the minimum, take some accounting courses and get familiar with business programs. Take some Quickbooks courses. At least you'll be able to generate reports and handle payroll and taxes. So many people keep putting it off. I promise you, if you do acquire a business, once you are cranking there is never time to go back and learn. Steak, never mention the most unfavorable word in business again. (partner)