Question

If you want to open up a chef school what is the steps to do it

Answer 1

How to Become a Chef: Be a Self-Taught Food Master or a Certified Career Professional

DECEMBER 4, 2013 BY BRITTANI SPONAUGLE
howtobecomeachefYou spend your nights cooking elaborate dinners for your family, and you love it. Your co-workers constantly remark how incredible your home packed lunches look. You have no problem whipping up a gourmet German chocolate cake for your friend’s birthday. Sound familiar? If you have a passion for cooking food and are considering a career change – you’ve come to the right place. Becoming a chef is a rewarding career path and you just need a zest for cooking, some business know-how and determination. To learn some easy and healthy recipes from a professional chef, check out Cathy Erway’s Healthy Cooking Fundamentals.

The challenging journey to become a chef can be achieved by obtaining a degree in the culinary arts, or working your way up the food chain (pun intended) to earn your position at the top, without a degree.

Want to become a professional and certified chef? You rock. At this point you probably know your deep passion for everything food. Eating it, preparing it, presenting it, and sharing it. If this sounds like you then Chef [your name] it is.

Chefs are chef’s because they know food, inside and out. They’ve totally mastered food manipulation and preparation. These skills don’t have to be inherit though, you can adopt chef techniques by studying and practicing (the best part!).

Here’s how to start your culinary arts education and career.

Have a passion for food. Might be obvious but sans food passion you’re likely to be a lousy chef.

Understand what it takes. Being a chef is not just playing in a kitchen and eating good food. It’s a lot of work. As a professional chef you will be responsible for creating a menu, preparing the food to order, mastering presentation, supervising employees and kitchen staff, maintaining inventory and keeping records.

Choose a specialty. What kind of Chef are you most interested in becoming? Here are a few to choose from: Executive Chef, Saucier, Pastry Chef, Sous Chef, Garde Manger, or Personal Chef.

Be honest with yourself. So you now know you want to be, let’s say, a Pastry Chef. (Learn how to become a pastry chef in this online pastry chef training.) You’ve got to honestly assess yourself in a couple arenas before you pursue getting your new career in the culinary arts.

Can you multi-task?
Are you a people person?
Do you work well under pressure?
How are your decision making skills?
Can you stand on your feet for hours on end?
Find a School. There are a lot of options available to you. Most chefs have at least attended at vocational or trade school to study food safety. You can also learn more about the HACCP food safety standards in this online course. Some chefs have invested a bit more time and earned an associates or bachelor’s degree from a 2-4 year institution. If you are ambitious and can’t get enough you can actually earn your doctorate in the culinary arts like the famous chef, Emeril. To locate a culinary school in your state use this map.

Some of the top schools worldwide include:

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA)

Le Cordon Bleu College

French Culinary Institute of New York City (FCI)

Johnson and Wales University

New England Culinary Institute

L’Academie de Cuisine

Hong Kong Culinary Academy

Culinary Academy of India

Hattori Nutrition College

Keiser University Centre for the Culinary Arts

Apply to jobs. Again, might be obvious, but you want to apply for a position as a chef, or, an apprentice. Either way, you’re getting yourself a spot amongst the ranks which will help you excel in your career as chef. Work on your cover letter and present yourself in a positive way, highlighting all of your accomplishments and distinctions.

Answer 2

1. Determine what kind of cooking classes you will teach. If you are an expert in a certain type of food or technique, this is a good place to start. For example, if you are an expert in Italian cooking, start with these types of classes or if you are an expert bread baker, offer classes in these techniques. Make a list of your skills, even skills that don't seem important to you at first. It's quite possible that once you go through the list, you will see ample opportunity to offer a variety of classes.

2. Go to classes. Find cooking classes and attend them. Take notes not only on what they are cooking, but on how the class is organized. Pay attention to how the cooking is taught and whether you feel like the instructor is doing a good job or if students are getting lost. It's important to see how others teach so you can improve and evaluate your own cooking style.

3. Check with your local department of health as well as your county clerk's office to find out if you'll need any type of special license to operate your business. Because you are not selling the food, it is unlikely that you will need to have an inspection like a commercial kitchen would. Offering classes in your clients' homes is also an option.

4. Gather your equipment and set up your kitchen. Be sure that you have everything you will need to teach your class. If your students will be cooking, be sure to have enough for everyone. You won't need five mixers, for example, but you will need to have ample mixing bowls, ramekins, measuring cups and spoons. If your kitchen is ill-equipped, see if you can offer classes through a local retail store or restaurant. This is good marketing for them and gives you a place to do your cooking. If you can't find a store or restaurant to work with you, you may be able to rent a kitchen from a church or school in their off-hours.

5. Develop your promotional materials. Create a name for your business, and develop a logo. Use the logo on your business cards, brochure and website. If you offer other services, such as catering or personal chef services, then be sure to incorporate all of these in your promotional materials. People will recommend your cooking to a friend who needs a caterer if they took your class, and loved you and your cooking.

6. Plan your class well. You might find that your first classes will go along so well you don't need a plan, but creating a syllabus and making notes for yourself will help to ensure that you hit all the points you want to make. You don't need to plan every class to the minute, but having general points you want to go over will make teaching easier and help the class go smoothly.

7. Start small. Once you get interest in your first set of classes--you'll need to decide if these are a series of classes or a one-time only thing--only accept a few students. This will help you get your feet wet, allow you to try new things and help you keep your nerves down if you are nervous about your new venture.