Are you a certified foodie? Do you always have well-attended parties because of the food you serve? You definitely should think about a career in culinary arts.
You may be earning well in your current profession, but does the job make you happy? Your love for food and your passion for preparing them can actually give you a much better career than what you have right now. Even if there is a growing number of culinary professionals nowadays, there is always room for one more.
If people have been telling you to become a chef or try your hand in the restaurant business, give it some thought. If you are undecided which area of the culinary arts you want to concentrate on, you may get yourself an associate degree in culinary arts. The programs under it are geared towards training you with the basics. There are some programs however, that give you a taste of some specialized area like baking. This is a good education option that can actually help you see which definite area of the culinary arts you want to pursue. After you have established your interests, you will be ready to go further with your education and get a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts.
Cooking schools and culinary institutes will also give you courses on business and give you the needed exposure through internship programs. These methods will more than prepare you for the competitive culinary arts industry.
It does not happen often when one makes a living doing what he wants. Most of the time, people struggle to go to work because they are stuck with jobs that do not stimulate their interests, except of course for the paycheck that come with them. It is important to understand though that if you want to consider a career in the culinary arts, it can mean spending plenty of time in the workplace. Culinary professionals are generally workaholics. They work long hours and most of the work is physically demanding. It does not exactly mean that you need to lift heavy boxes most of the day, but some work would entail you to roll several pounds of dough or mix barrelful of ingredients. Plus, holidays are mostly the “must work” days and your weekends could become nonexistent, not to mention your social life.
This reality would scare anyone. Some people will be proud and happy to have some other kind of job. But for those who have the genuine passion to cook and the ultimate fondness for preparing food, these are all part of the satisfaction that comes with the job. Most culinary professionals say that the industry is only for those crazy enough to take on the hard and exhausting work. But their job gives them the self-fulfillment that they can not find anywhere else.