Once again I am delighted to announce a new recipient for The Reluctant Gourmet Culinary Grant in association with Chef4Students.org. This is the 3rd award I’ve been honored to give out to a culinary student in need of financial assistance. The winner this year is Karly Krentz from the Secchia Institute for Culinary Arts in Grand Rapids, MI.

About The Process

For the 2009/2010 academic year, Chefs4Students.org received more than 1350 applications from students at over 39 different culinary schools across the country and abroad. Eligible students attended a culinary school at the time of the award, show proof of their financial need, provide letters of recommendation, transcripts and a 500-word essay.

Chef David Nelson, co-founder of Chef4Students and a panel consisting of several certified chefs, business executives and culinary professionals from various organizations across the globe carefully reviewed the applicants to pick several top candidates. At this point, I was able to review those picks and choose a student as the recipient of The Reluctant Gourmet culinary grant. It was not easy to choose a candidate; they all had great backgrounds and well written essays.

About Karly Krentz

Karly is 18 years old, attended Fruitport High School and is now attending Secchia Institute for Culinary Education (SICE).  In high school she was part of the culinary arts team in 2008 and 2009.  After high school Karly moved to Grand Rapids to attend SICE.   I want to share with you a portion of Karly’s essay sent in with her application talking about her experiences in high school with the culinary team.

“Fruitport High School offers a unique culinary arts class which runs for 2 ½ hours every day. This class consists of book work, the lunch program for the teachers, a culinary management team, and a culinary arts team. I originally enrolled in this class because it seemed fun, and I had extra time to fill in my schedule. I never expected this single class to have such a profound impact on my life and future career path.

As the class began I decided that I was going to try out for the culinary team. Tryouts were based on knife skills that were taught to us by a Grand Rapids community college graduate, as well as two of the best chefs in Michigan. I didn’t know too much about knife skills, or have much knowledge of culinary for that matter, but many chopped up carrots later, I was chosen to be part of the team. At this point I did not understand the commitment that this team would involve, but I found that out quickly.”

That year Karly and her teammates placed first in state for the fourth year in a row, a real testament to the students and their coaches Chefs Christian Madsen and Scott Hunter.   This win meant a trip to San Diego, California for a chance to compete in a high school national culinary competition where they ended up placing second in the nation.   In her senior year, Karly and her teammates continued the dynasty and took home the gold medal in the state competition for the fifth year in a row.

About Secchia Institute for Culinary Education

The Secchia  Institute, as part of the Grand Rapids Community College, is a recipient of the national award of excellence in post secondary food service education from the National Restaurant Association/American Vocational Association.  They are also the national headquarters and training site for the world cup of pastries American pastry team, as well as the national training site for the USA pastry team.

As one of only two culinary arts programs in the nation, SICE has been awarded American Culinary Federation accreditation for three consecutive seven-year cycles – 21 years.  So you can see the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education offers educational excellence, experienced faculty and affordability – a great combination for their student’s success.

What’s Next

After reading Karly’s references required in the grant process, I can only say that the future looks bright for her. Quoting Michael Wheeler, her Fruitport high school culinary arts instructor,

“ I cannot overstate Karly’s level of integrity or dedication. She loves her craft and is excelling in culinary school at GRCC. She has trained under chefs from a Five Diamond restaurant and these men have come to respect her tremendously not only for her dedication but her character. Karly is a wonderful asset to this great industry and I wholeheartedly would recommend her for her ability and enthusiasm.”

I’m hoping to interview Karly in the near future and ask her about her experiences in school and maybe get her to keep us up to date on her achievements while at school. It is a wonderful honor and brings me great pleasure to be able to help students like Karly in some small way to achieve their dreams.  If anyone is interested in getting involved with Chef4Students grant program, please contact me or Chef Nelson at the Chef4Students.com website.

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2nd Reluctant Gourmet Culinary Grant Winner Blair Cannon

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Culinary Schools by City

Every day I get emails from future chefs, restaurateurs and culinary managers looking for top culinary schools and how to pursue a culinary education. One of the questions I’m often asked is “What’s the difference between a culinary arts program and a culinary management program.” Great question and one I’d like to explore in this post.

The Difference between a Culinary Arts Program and a Culinary Management Program

Choosing a career in the culinary field is a great first step for a profitable future. With positions all throughout the restaurant industry on the rise, more and more opportunities for new graduates are expected to open up. This can mean exciting possibilities for individuals with an interest in food preparation.

However, before you sign up for culinary school, you must first decide between the types of culinary programs offered. Two of the most popular are culinary arts programs and culinary management programs. Although these programs offer much of the same basic education at their cores, they are geared toward different professions.

What is a Culinary Arts Program?

Culinary arts programs are what most of us think of when it comes to cooking as a professional. Chefs, sous chefs, celebrity cooks, bakers, line cooks – many of these individuals graduated or attended a culinary arts program. These programs are all about food science, from understanding the nutritional content of raw materials to combining flavors and mastering tricky culinary techniques. The “art” side of the program comes into play because of how much individual creativity goes into combining flavors to create dishes that others will enjoy.

Most culinary arts professionals work in a kitchen of some kind. Although well-rounded culinary arts programs will include some coursework on issues of restaurant management, food safety, and the more technical aspects of kitchen maintenance, most of the focus is on the food: how to prepare it, how to cook it, and how to make it look like a work of art.

What is a Culinary Management Program?

Culinary management is an educational course that prepares graduates to work on the practical side of running a restaurant. Unlike culinary arts programs, which focus mostly on the cooking aspect of the restaurant industry, culinary management goes beyond food preparation to include restaurant management, human resources issues, safety in the kitchen, menu development, and front-of-the-house issues.

Ideal for students who enjoy cooking but want to take a more business-oriented approach to the career, culinary management is all about working with the customers and with the staff to make the restaurant run most effectively. It takes some general business acumen as well as more accounting, law, and general education learning than the culinary arts program alone. It also takes a strong leader who knows quite a bit about food and how it is best prepared.

Getting a Culinary Degree

One of the biggest differences in culinary arts programs and culinary management programs is the type of education students receive. Although there certainly are exceptions, most culinary arts programs are offered as diploma, certification, or Associate Degree courses, while culinary management tends to fall under a more “scholarly” approach.

Many culinary management programs are offered in conjunction with private and public universities, and students hold anything from a two-year Associate Degree to a six-year Master’s Degree. The primary reason for this difference is the more business-oriented approach of culinary management, since students may have to first get a strong base in economics, finance, and marketing before they learn about the specializations of the culinary market.

Job Opportunities in the Culinary Field

Individuals who gradate from culinary arts programs typically go on to work in restaurants, bakeries, and commercial kitchens. They may work as line cooks, making roughly $10.00 an hour, or they may work as executive chefs in their own restaurants, with an income of $60,000 to $100,000 per year. The work tends to be physically demanding, fast-paced, and require weekend and evening work; however, those who love to cook often find that there is nothing else they’d rather be doing.

Individuals who graduate from culinary management programs go on to work in restaurants (either supervising the kitchen or the front of the house), hotels and other hospitality trade businesses, and catering companies, among others. The average salary rests between $40,000 and $70,000 per year, with higher wages offered at the upper management levels. A love of food is still a bonus, since many culinary managers find themselves in charge of menu development or even jumping on the line to help out during a rush.

Which Culinary Program is Right for You?

There are pros and cons to each type of culinary program. While culinary management offers higher wages, it does typically require more education and more time spent away from actual food preparation. The culinary arts, though emotionally satisfying for those who love the field, can cause burnout and quite a bit of competition when it comes to landing the higher positions.

Because both types of programs have a foundation in basic culinary skills, it may be best to find a culinary school that offers both programs. Once you start discovering which aspect of the culinary field appeals to you the most, you can then specialize and get firmly on track to your future as a culinary professional.

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Culinary School Resources

Culinary Schools by State

Culinary Schools by City

Culinary School Grants and Scholarships

How to Choose a Culinary School

Every once in a while I get an email from some young person who thinks I’m a professional chef and wants to interview me for a school project. I let them know I’m a home cook who enjoys food, cooking and writing about it and encourage them to contact another chef or I find them someone I think may be able to help them.

Patrick, a third grader from Massachusetts contacted me through his teacher and wanted to interview a pastry chef. Lucky for both of us, Chef Jenni Field, a culinary school graduate, was willing and able.

Here’s what Patrick’s third grade teacher wrote me:

I am a third grade teacher whose class is doing a project about careers.  I have a young man who needs to interview a pastry chef.  Would you be able to accommodate?  He would email you the 6 easy questions, and you could email back the answers.  Thanks for considering this request.  You’d make one young man very happy! Sincerely, Amy

Here are Patrick’s very thoughtful questions, Chef Jenni’s introductory remarks and her answers. Thanks Jenni.

First of all, you need to know that I was a pastry chef in fine dining restaurants, but now I am a food writer and have my own website.  I enjoyed working in the kitchen, but I love what I do now, too.  You have asked some very good questions, and I will try to answer them for you as fully as possible.

1.  Why did you decide to do this job?

I had been a teacher for sixteen years, but I had always loved cooking and baking.  After so many years teaching, I wasn’t really enjoying it anymore, and I was excited about changing careers to become a pastry chef.  That way, I could cook and bake every day!

2.  Do you need any kind of special education, training, or license to do
your job? What kind?

Many people get into cooking and baking just by starting at a young age.  Most of the great chefs in Europe, as well as many in the United States, never went to a special school.  They just worked in a lot of different restaurants and kitchens, learning from great chefs and slowly gaining more and more responsibility in the kitchen.

In the United States these days, many people graduate from culinary school, but graduating from school doesn’t make you a chef.  ”Chef” is the French word for “chief,” and the chief is the person in charge.  The chief has to know more about cooking and baking than everyone else in the kitchen, and he/she has earned respect.

People fresh out of culinary school still have a lot to learn, but it is a very good place to start, and you can learn a lot of the basics of cooking and baking.  Many cooks and chefs are ServSafe Certified.  This means that they have passed a test all about food safety and sanitation.  When I went to culinary school, I took and passed the ServSafe test, too.

3.  What do you like about your job? What do you dislike?

I really enjoyed (and I still do) being able to come up with a dessert idea, make it, and have people like it.  There’s almost nothing better than when someone compliments you on a great dessert that was all your idea!

The thing I disliked the most is standing up in a very hot kitchen all day long.  At the end of the day, my feet were very tired and sore and all I wanted to do was lie on the couch and watch TV for an hour or two!

4.  How long have you been doing this job?

I worked at my first restaurant for a year and a half, and I was the pastry cook and then the pastry chef.  That was a good feeling to get a promotion to pastry chef!  I helped to open and create the dessert menu for another restaurant, and I worked there as the pastry chef in charge of production (making all the dessert components) for six months.  Then, my husband got a new job in another state and we moved away.

5.  What do you do on this job?

Aside from making all the dessert components–ice creams, garnishes, sauces as well as the cakes, tarts and other main dessert items, I also ordered necessary ingredients when they were running low, making sure we never ran out of important things like chocolate, flour, butter, sugar and eggs.  I also kept an inventory of all the food items that we needed.  I ordered ingredients from different vendors and made sure they were all properly stored.

6.  Do you have to retire from this job at a certain age? What age?

As far as I am aware, there is no set age at which a chef needs to retire.  Many chefs work hard into their 60s, 70s and even 80s.  I read somewhere that being a chef is a very good job because you’ll never go hungry and you’ll always have a job.

I hope I’ve answered your questions, Patrick.  If you’d like to interview a pastry chef who is still working at a hotel or restaurant, you can probably call one of the fancy restaurants in your city and ask to interview the pastry chef.  Most chefs are excited about their jobs and would be happy to help you with your project.

Take care,
Jenni Field

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