Culinary field is among the most competitive career fields with very rewarding income potential and challenging tasks to present the most exotic style and techniques of cooking. In order to stay inline in this quickly changing and high-demand industry with the latest and greatest styles and techniques of food preparation and presentation, many culinary professionals often continued their education in various ways to accomplish hinges not only on creative skills but also on the working experience and knowledge that are required to adapt to a dynamic environment.

If you are a chef with an associate degree or certification in cooking and you are thinking of advance your career to next level in your profession, a bachelor or graduate degree will definitely put you at an advantage edge to grab the greatest opportunities that rise along your career path. But you may not want to quit your current job just to go back to a culinary school to pursue the degree in culinary arts. Then, online culinary arts degree enable you to have one stone to kill 2 birds – allow you to continue your current job as chef while study online to complete a culinary arts degree program.

Chefs have various continuing education options. Besides the culinary arts degrees, you can also choose programs such as hospitality management, food science or cooking-related continuing education programs that may include:

• Food Styling & Media
• Dietetics
• Food Research
• Food Sales & Marketing

Although, you can choose to go to traditional culinary arts or cooking school and select the culinary arts degree program that fit your needs, but you may find it hard to arrange your schedule if you want to continue your chef’s job while attending the culinary or cooking classes. Luckily, many colleges and universities understand the concerns of working adults who are interested to continue their education without willingness to give up their paycheck, and they have designed their continuing education programs geared towards working individuals by making these culinary arts degree programs available in online setting.

The online culinary arts degree programs are able to fit one’s convenience because most of these programs enable the greatest flexibility for students to logon to the classes from anywhere and at anytime they like. Chef’s who are busy with their job or do not have fixed working schedule can easily plan their study at their own pace. Many online culinary schools do have online classes with video teaching materials that enable the online students to effectively learn the arts of cooking and food presentation through video streaming and pre-recorded videos.

Summary

Continuing education options through online culinary arts degree programs enabled chefs to enhance their creative skills, enrich their working experience and in depth their knowledge that is required to adapt to a dynamic environment while continuing stay focus on their existing career.

Whether you take a few classes or get your degree, an education from a culinary institute can have a major impact on many areas of your life. In today’s day and age cooking is rarely a skill that is taught to the up-and-coming generations, and most people learn to cook by trial and error. They cook only well enough to survive. As a result, eating out is becoming increasingly more popular, as people get bored with the meals that their cooking skills, or lack thereof, produce at home. Unfortunately, eating out is also becoming increasingly worse for our health, as processed food, fast food, “super sized” meals, and larger portion sizes become selling points for many restaurants. In this world that we have created, an education from a culinary institute can go a long way toward improving your quality of life.

The first and most obvious way that an education from a culinary institute can impact your life is by enabling you to make delicious, nutritious meals at home. The benefits of this change of pace are numerous. You will save money by making meals from scratch, rather than relying on expensive convenience foods and restaurant meals. With the classes on basic nutrition that is offered by every quality culinary institute, you will be able to feed your family meals that meet their bodies’ nutritional requirements. A goal that most convenience foods and many restaurant meals fail to do; instead they provide only empty calories. Additionally, an education from a culinary institute will give you a repertoire of interesting and varied meals to serve your family, enabling you to keep even the pickiest eaters satisfied. A benefit that many parents would consider the most important of all.

The value of an education from a culinary institute extends beyond the home life; you can also improve your social life by being able to cook well. The expense of going out with friends can put a severe restriction on your social life. However, if you can cook well enough, you will be able to entertain your friends at your own house. Moreover, you will be able to enjoy the expressions on their faces when they see the top quality meal that you have prepared for them!

Of course, another benefit of having an education from a culinary institute is what it means for your career. A good culinary institute will offer a number of programs for career minded students: associate degrees in the culinary arts and confectionary, as well as more advanced programs for more ambitious individuals. These culinary schools offer bachelor’s degree programs designed for students who aspire toward the management of a culinary business. These programs are geared to help students get started on their commercial culinary careers.

However, not every culinary career has to be in an already established business. Getting a degree from a culinary institute is a strong first step to starting a small business. For example, an entrepreneur with an education from a culinary institute would be able to find a chef job with a wealthy family, or even several smaller jobs cooking for multiple families. In addition, having a degree from a culinary institute will give an ambitious entrepreneur the credentials to start his or her own catering business. There are many self-employed or small business opportunities in the culinary field, and entrepreneurs will find that having the right education will open many doors for them.

An education from a culinary institute is an invaluable investment. The savings you realize by cooking meals from scratch and eating in more often will offset the cost of the class, while improving the health and well being of you and your family. And if you are interested in a career in the culinary arts, a degree will give you access to opportunities you would not have had otherwise. As you can see, a degree from a culinary institute will not only pay for itself, but also improve the very quality of your life.

Okanagan College Culinary Arts program offers students the opportunity to pursue their culinary education in one of Canada’s top vacation destinations, located in the heart of Okanagan wine country.  Kelowna and the entire Okanagan Valley is becoming known all over the world for its many wonderful wineries.  In some world class magazines their calling the Kelowna area “The Toscanini of Canada.”

As students prepare for a culinary career in the luxury hotel and restaurant industry, Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley offer the ideal area and environment.  Okanagan College Culinary Arts program capitalizes on the resources provided in the Okanagan Valley area to offer programs based on the principles of “Real-world” practical training, world class chef instructors to provide unparalleled opportunities for employment in the culinary industry.  The “Real-world” practical, hands-on training Okanagan College Culinary Arts provides will result in marketable culinary skills necessary to be successful in a foodservice and hospitality career.

Students in the Okanagan College’s Culinary Arts program will experience a fast paced learning and working environment with a big emphasis on “Real-world” practical, hands-on activities.  Because Okanagan Valley attracts tourists and visitors from all over the world who wish to vacation and sample regional cuisine, students are given the opportunity to apply their culinary skills and knowledge under the instruction and direction of  world class chefs within the classrooms and kitchens of Okanagan College.

Okanagan College’s Culinary Arts School has a fine dining restaurant on their campus called Infusions. Infusions restaurant will exceed your expectations for fine gourmet dining.  Part of the students culinary training in the Culinary Arts program, they operate the Infusions restaurant, a hidden gem in the Okanagan Valley.  To prepare for employment in the culinary industry and work in some of the top restaurants, resorts, cruise ships and hotels worldwide, students receive “Real-world” experience at this restaurant under the instruction and direction of world class chef instructors.  To inspire student’s creatativity, every week they design and prepare a three-course gourmet menu under the direction of the Chef, and instructors teach students formal guest services so that the student masters all aspects of restaurant organization.  The weekly menu changes at Infusions restaurant ensuring that their restaurant guests receive a good variety of seasonal choices, and a constant source of fresh quality foods that are available in the Okanagan Valley.

There are many colleges and universities around the world that offer culinary arts degrees and certificate programs to prepare  a students culinary career challenge, and while fine tuning cooking skills that students already possess,  students at culinary colleges and universities will learn all about these important aspects of the art of cooking.  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.  Students who want to pursue a culinary education, the Okanagan College Culinary Arts program is a great choice, or just take a trip to this place of endless possibilities, experience the sights, and sounds that make Kelowna and Okanagan Valley an exceptional educational and vacation experience.

Do economics courses leave you craving a bit more crunch? Find yourself wanting to take a bite out of bio? Are your literature courses a bit too sweet, and your poly-sci courses a little too sour? Maybe a traditional liberal arts education isn’t exactly your cup of tea… What is? Culinary study.

The Call of the Kitchen

If you’d rather spend time studying a cookbook than a chem book, you probably know it already – most culinary schools seem to have an inclination toward the kitchen before they graduate high school. What you may not know is that your passion can translate to a very exciting and lucrative culinary career.

“I spent my freshman year at New York University (New York, NY),” say Debbie Shure. “I had a kitchen in my dorm and I would always cook for my friends. It was a great hobby, but I never knew that I wanted to make a career out of it.” Things have since changed, as Debbie recently graduated from Johnson … Wales’ (Providence, RI), a world-renowned culinary school, and now has a successful culinary career at Chocolatier magazine.

The same held true for Nathan Rhodes, who worked in Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s corporate office after high school. “I always had a passion for food, and I picked up on that early on,” says Nathan, now 24 and studying at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA, Hyde Park, NY).”I was working a corporate job, because that’s what I thought I was ‘supposed’ to do. Then I saw a television special on WOLFGANG PUCK [a famous chef and restaurant owner]. It inspired me to apply to culinary school, and now I love it to death!” Well – death by chocolate, maybe.

Nathan was able to find just the right recipe for his culinary career dreams. How to start? By finding the right culinary school for you.

Culinary Schools: Not Your Average Classroom

You may have a knack for whipping up late-night mac n’ cheese or adding just the right amount of cream and sugar in your morning coffee, but culinary school will probably be a bit more demanding.

“CIA’s associate’s program is about 85 percent hands-on learning,” says Nathan. “The day starts with a lecture that reviews recipes and answers questions, and for the next five hours you’re in the kitchen. Then there’s a lecture to close the day.”

But the hard work pays off. “The thing about culinary school is you get out what you put in,” says Debbie. “If you work hard, you’ll learn a ton. Your instructors are completely willing to help you as long as you’re motivated.”

The Real (Culinary) World

As the recent reality show, “The Restaurant” showed, the day-to-day operations of a culinary career – particularly within a popular eatery – are frantic, fast-paced, demanding, and most importantly, exciting. Most culinary schools have some kind of externship program, where you work on site, to help give you a taste of what a culinary career is like.

“CIA’s externship lasts 21 weeks and you can go to any of the 1,700 approved sites,” explains Nathan. “It’s sort of like a job application, where the restaurants are looking to hire students. You apply, go on an interview, and then hopefully get the position.” For students embarking on such study, finding a culinary school that places great value on in-the-kitchen experience is vital to your future culinary career.

A Culinary Career Smorgasbord

Perhaps the most important thing to know about earning a culinary degree at culinary school is that it won’t limit you to the kitchen. “The food industry is experiencing a huge boom right now, and there are many more jobs than there used to be,” says Colleen Pontes, a CIA graduate and former Chocolatier food writer. “The popularity of MARTHA STEWART opened the door for food media and food TV, and the industry in general is generating so much excitement and interest at the moment.”

“We want to show people the culinary career opportunities that are out there,” says Kathy Shaw, sales and marketing director at Le Cordon Bleu (Ottawa, Ontario), and graduate of the school’s culinary school programs in Paris. “I started out wanting to be a chef, now I do the school’s marketing. There are many ways to make this passion a career.”

“There are countless culinary careers beyond being a chef like catering, food TV, food writing, food art, event planning, food critic positions,” agrees Nathan. “Even research and development at major food companies like Hershey’s or Campbell’s – all of the sauces, candies, soups and flavors those mega companies put out are designed by people with culinary abilities.”

And you’ll never be stuck in one place. “When I first started, I wanted to be in the kitchen making desserts for people,” says Debbie. “Now I realize I want to be a food writer, which will be great. I can combine all of my food knowledge with my writing skills and help Americans understand what good food is all about!”

© Copyright 2007

The CollegeBound Network

All Rights Reserved

NOTICE: Article(s) may be republished free of charge to relevant websites, as long as Copyright and Author Resource Box are included; and ALL Hyperlinks REMAIN intact and active.