Catering Jobs Vs Culinary Careers: Education, Degrees And Training

Graduating with a culinary degree can open many doors for a person interested in cooking. Upon first leaving school, the graduate may not be sure what to do with all of the possibilities. As a result, it's important for students to examine the culinary arts careers available and decide which direction to take in the great arena of food service. Most culinary arts graduates have the option of choosing catering jobs or culinary careers.

Catering jobs include self owned business and helping the top chef prepare meals. Starting a catering service remains a great option for someone who loves cooking and working with people, and has a strong entrepreneurial and managerial drive. A culinary degree is not required for catering jobs. Education in the form of formal training and experience does help, however, as does a background in business. For catering jobs, business skills (and maybe a degree in business) are definitely more important than they would be in other culinary arts careers.

Catering jobs can be very profitable, but require more than just cooking and preparing food. Catering jobs also require skills in accounting, management, and marketing. A  caterer with all of these skills can expect to earn at least $50,000 a year; managing catering jobs in a busy city could bring in over $200,000 a year. All catering jobs require a kitchen and supplies. A small, personal kitchen will suffice for smaller catering jobs, while a professional kitchen is  necessary for bigger catering jobs. Essential supplies for catering jobs include utensils, china, tables, and serving equipment.

Upon attaining a culinary degree, there are many other options for culinary arts careers besides catering jobs. Most culinary arts careers require training in the culinary arts. While training for catering jobs might include business classes or helping to manage a company, training for other culinary arts careers includes practicing, practicing, and more practicing. The graduate must improve skills, discover which spices work best, and find out what it is like to work at a fast pace. Working at a restaurant, be it a small place, a fine dining joint, or a corporate restaurant could offer valuable day-in, day-out practice to a budding cook. Other good place to start at include a hotel, banquet hall, or bakeshop.

Culinary arts careers include corporate chefs, restaurant chefs, and personal chefs. Salaries for these with culinary arts careers vary greatly. A cooking assistant usually earns from $24,286 to $30,402, while an executive chef makes from $55,482 to $84,575. The manager of a restaurant could expect to gross $35,917 to $52,599 per year. A personal chef's salary would most likely be quite high, as more wealthy people hire personal chefs. However, catering jobs are usually the most profitable, especially if the owner lives in a metropolitan area.

Catering jobs have become more prevalent thanks to the prominence of charity organizations, corporations, and other companies calling on caterers to bring in food for their events. Among the many culinary arts careers available, one in catering services may prove to be the best for someone who likes business as well as cooking. However, there are many interesting and fun jobs available to those with a culinary degree.


Sources:
Fulbright, Jenny. “How To Start Your Own Highly Profitable Catering Service.” PowerHomeBiz.com. 2006. 12 June 2007. http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol25/catering.htm
LaVilla, Joe. “Culinary Careers: A Giant Buffet of Possibilities.” Cooking Schools.com. 29 Oct. 2002. ALLschools.com. 12 June 2007. http://www.cookingschools.com/articles/career-plan ning/
Neer, Katherine. “How Catering Works.” How Stuff Works. 2007. 12 June 2007.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/catering6.htm
Salary Information for Culinary Arts Careers. All Culinary Schools. 2002-2007. All Star Directories, Inc. 19 June 2007. http://www.allculinaryschools.com/faqs/salaries.ph p