Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Deciding to Go to Culinary School

Deciding to go to culinary school or not is a big decision. A lot of people decide to go to culinary school for the wrong reasons. They think it will be easy, they like to watch cooking shows, eat and cook. They really don't have any direction but know they need a degree in something to make it.
It is not all glitz and glamor as seen on TV. When deciding to go to culinary school make sure it is something you really want to do or you will end up with a culinary degree that you won't use because when you see the real culinary world you will probably work in the industry for a few years then get out when you decide its not what its all cracked up to be.
This just makes it hard for those who really love the food service industry to get the positions they want because the industry is flooded. The restaurant/ food service industry is flooded with people who have degrees who only stay in industry for a few years get tired and get out. Or those people who just work in industry because it pays the bills but really have no drive or determination.
It is hard for employers to weed out these types of people so the people who really have the drive and determination to work in the restaurant/ food service industry have trouble getting their desired position..
When selecting a culinary school be sure to look at the programs offered because some schools may be cheaper but only offer 2year associates degree programs when you may want the 4 year bachelors degree program or masters program.
Also look at the classes offered can you do duel majors like cooking/ baking or is it limited to just one or the other. Are the business classes offered because you can be the best chef but if you can't work the numbers you won't go very far.
Another thing to consider is studying in another country offered. I believe the culinary school I went to Baltimore International College is the only culinary school in the U.S that offers this but I could be wrong.
These are just a few of what I believe to be the major factors in deciding to go to culinary school.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Restaurant Food

What happened to restaurant food? Everything is owned by big corporations and turned in to restaurant chains. They are killing off independent restaurants where real food is created. I almost hate eating out, I'd rather cook myself. Everywhere you go u see the same things on the menus just slightly different no creativity. Why is this you might ask. Well this is because the big corporate chefs have to design menus that are easy enough that a average cook can prepare. They basically have to dumb things down. They have to make the products come out the same in hundreds of restaurants across the country. They have to make it so a $10 an hour cook is able to successfully prepare the food on the menu. You might say well just find a good independent restaurant with a real chef and eat there. Well they are few and far between with these corporate giants and their millions of dollars. The corporations are squashing small restaurants because the independent doesn't have the resources to run ads on TV every day or pay the high rent for good locations. Also quiet often independent restaurants biggest problem is the cost per meal. By this I mean to have chefs creating the menu and selling very nice food costs a lot so you will pay more. Unless it is a independent restaurant that is selling basic food prepared in a skillful manner. But I guess it is easy for these big corporate chains to fool the vast majority when it comes to food.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Burn't out restaurant workers

The restaurant industry is a fast paced non stop industry that is always changing. It never stops. Not even for holidays or weekends, but we all know this. It is those of us who work in the restaurant industry any where from 40 to 80 hours a week who know all to well how easy it is to get burn't out. The long hours in front of hot stoves or on the floor dealing with customers can sometimes be grueling, but we love it. It is very hard to get weekends off or holidays for that matter unless u work in contract foodservice. Sometimes the daily grind in this business can beat us down to the point where we want to just throw our hands up. Thats when you have to take that extra day off when u can to get a breather and take some of that pressure off. Exspecially for restaurant managers. Sometimes we wait to long to get that breather in trying to make it to our vaccation time when we can get refreshed. It never stops and new problems arise everyday in the restaurant industry so we have to get those extra days off when we can so we can keep doing what we love.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

My other website

If you like this site then please visit my other site
computer-cleaners . This site has nothing to do with the restaurant industry but it may help you if you are having computer issues dealing with adware, spyware and viruses.