Did you know that there currently is a rise in applications to culinary schools? The New York Post reported today: “The weak economy has actually boosted interest, in part because people often return to school during slowdowns, and in part because food careers are popular with career changers — including those motivated by a layoff. And to some extent, the food business is recession-proof.” Naturally, I was pleased when the Post asked my opinion on this matter.

The conventional culinary job is no longer simply peas and beans and carrots, rather it encompasses an enormously vast array of  options. One can become a chef in a restaurant or a personal chef for a family; a food historian or a food folklorist; a recipe writer or a recipe tester; a flavor maker or a public policy food fighter…

Yet more options open up after you’ve attended culinary school. Which cooking school you apply to is a personal choice largely determined by your particular goals. High-profile schools offer more in terms of visits and cooking demonstrations by superstar chefs, but smaller schools may provide more nurturing environments and are less of a financial burden.

Where the school is located, what times of day or evening classes are offered and how large the classes are also very real consid- erations for many would-be culinary students. Unlike traditional colleges, culinary schools attract students of all ages. Some have special needs that are not always anticipated by other institutions of higher education.

Many professional schools have three divisions: culinary skills, baking and pastry, and hospitality management. Students at some, (though not all schools), are able to combine programs. A degree program can extend for anywhere from six to 38 months with tuition costs varying from $10,000 to more than $70,000. In all cases, financial aid is readily available.

The schools with larger endowments, like The Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales, often have more highly qualified and experienced faculty, better-equipped kitchens, a more extensive library, and even, sports facilities. These schools, and others in major culinary metropolises, may offer student housing, indicating that  they attract students from around the world. They also tend to have higher tuition fees than smaller, non-residential schools.

There are many factors to consider before enrolling in culinary school, and prospective students are urged to take their time before making a decision about what is best for them.

An Associate of Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) degree from a top-tier school is believed to carry more weight when seeking employment, but this is not necessarily so. Great students with good attitudes are offered terrific jobs, no matter which school they attend.

You may prefer to enroll in a small school where there is a strong focus on the individual and a small class size. In the culinary program at Paul Smith’s College in Lake Placid, New York, for example, there is a 14:1 student to faculty ratio. Teachers, mentors and advisers are always on hand. The college has a magnificent library, and its lakeside campus, nestled in the magnificent Adirondack Mountains, is an excellent destination for winter and summer sports enthusiasts.

Community colleges in every part of the country offer degree programs in culinary arts. In addition to more affordable tuition, they allow students to live at home — another cost-saving consideration.

Remember that culinary school should be viewed as an investment and a beginning. There is still much hard work ahead. One more piece of advice: as you scan ShawGuides for suggested schools and begin to apply for culinary school, ask someone at the reference desk of your local public library for the Occupational Outlook Handbook. It lists all kinds of information you would need to know, (including the salary) of just about any occupation you can imagine.

Celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck

Dear Culinary Student,

It is estimated more than 70,000 of you are currently enrolled in professional culinary schools nationwide. How can you stand out from the crowd? How can you find a fulfilling career that will engage all your abilities? What are the possibilities you will become the next celebrity chef?

You have as good or better a shot of reaching your goal as the next person.

Look around! Look in front of you. Look behind you. Look at someone on each side of you. There is no one quite like you. You are unique. Now all you have to do is go to school to learn why and how things work. Once you know the fundamentals, you can reach whatever goal you set for yourself.

Everyone starts from a different point and is bound for a different destination. You are not competing with everybody else who may be vying for the same job you are seeking. Your only competition is with yourself.

Your road is there waiting for you. You just have to find it. Your horizon is limited only by your ability to envision it.

Besides my personal favorite, FOOD JOBS: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers, one of the most popular resources is The Guide To Cooking Schools, compiled by ShawGuides. It lists more than 800 culinary programs worldwide, 358 of which are geared towards professional training. The courses are listed with such detailed information as: the type of instruction; faculty credentials; tuition costs; student profiles and status of accreditation. ShawGuides also offers a free job-matching site.

Yet this is only the beginning. If you are lucky, your culinary path will match The Road Not Taken poet Robert Frost described.You must be prepared to take a risk. Many risks, in fact.

As I like to say, if you don’t ask for what you want, the chances of getting it are close to zero.

We all remember and remain inspired by Robert F. Kennedy’s famous words, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” For many considering a new career or changing careers, these words can take on new meaning; they can become a calm but determined mantra.

For if you are thinking about starting a new career, you are taking a huge risk. Simply reading these words is a measure of your bravery, your sense of adventure and your willingness to take charge of your life.

Whether we know it or not, we are all taking risks all the time. Even if we are classified as full-time employees, we are really free-lancers. The axe hangs over our head by a slender thread. The only security we have is our ability to transform our knowledge and experience into stepping stones to the next opportunity.

Rather that thinking about permanence and security, we should all be thinking about — indeed hoping for change. Change is the only constant in the continuum of our life.

If you stop pedaling, you’ll fall off your bike. If you keep going, no matter how slowly, you will eventually arrive at the place where you want to be. If you stand still, there is an illusion you are coasting but in fact, you are falling back.

Decisions  Decisions

Like it or not we have to keep making decisions. Should I wear this or that? Should I buy this car or that? Take this apartment or that? Go to this movie or that? Go out. Stay at home. Should the meat be well done, medium or rare? Blue cheese or Thousand Island dressing? Smooth or chunky? Small, medium or large? With or without? On and on goes the list of questions — and answers.

One of biggest difficulties is there are too many choices. It’s a little like thinking you want to write a cookbook on the chicken dishes of the world. If you have such a mad idea you will drown. It’s much easier to settle for the Chicken Dishes of Detroit.

As much as one-third of the culinary student community are career changers in their mid- to late-thirties and older.

They come from all walks of life. They are former airline pilots, lawyers, advertising executives, engineers, scientists nurses and entertainers. They previously worked in offices, schools, hospitals, and even in prisons. Some have served in the military and civil service. Many have already worked in restaurants and decided the in-depth education from a cooking school will advance their career options.

What they all share is a passion for food though not necessarily for cooking.

Once you decide to go to culinary school, you almost immediately have to decide whether to specialize in culinary programs or baking and pastry arts. Be sure to examine the options available at several schools before making the decision to choose one rather than another.

Working in a restaurant, (or owning one), is a dream job for many people but remember that it ranks as being among the most stressful things you can do. It is far more grueling to work in a restaurant on a Friday or Saturday evening than to be a member of the surgical team in a hospital operating room.

The good news is the hospitality industry is the 2nd largest employer nationwide, providing work for over 13 million people. The even better news is: there are literally hundreds of job opportunities available that will enable you to expand your existing life experience and lead you to a brand new career that you may not have known existed.

The bad news is that as you embark on the journey finding a unique food job, there is no map to guide you. No star to point the way. You must create your own true compass.

More good news, there is a job for you. You just have to find it. Look how many different loves we all go through before we find the one true keeper.

And being fired from the first food job is not as important as how you react. The former White House Pastry Chef Thaddeus Dubois one said, I left [the White House] as I arrived: fired with enthusiasm!”

Words from the Wise?

The former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield observed: “There are known knowns, there are things we know we know. There are known unknowns. That is, to say, there are things we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns.  Things we don’t know we don’t know.” Sometimes that’s what career searching feels like.

Thinking Ahead

Deciding to change your career, or embark on a new venture or just change jobs is a major undertaking. It means thinking ahead and anticipating where you want to be in the short-term. Not the long-term future. Because you will probably change your mind and change jobs several times. Most people do.

Remember: you’re in charge.

You are willing to exchange your time for someone’s money but you are not a prisoner.

You can figure out how to leave a job if you are miserable. Otherwise, you risk being unhappy and becoming a WOMBAT — a Waste Of Money, Brains And Time.

Or, to quote Bobby Kennedy once more, “All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don’t. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.”