How to Pick a Culinary Career Speciality

Careers in the culinary arts

You browse the aisles at the supermarket, choosing the finest ingredients to prepare your signature dishes. In addition, all the neighbors show up on your doorstep when the aroma of freshly brewed espresso wafts down the block. You love cooking and now it's time to choose a specialty in order to streamline your career in the culinary arts.

Instructions

1. Choose a course of study to become a chef if you long for the respect earned by those who turn ordinary ingredients into mouth-watering entrées. Throughout history, chefs have maintained a position of high regard for their ability to satisfy the palate of royalty.

2. Take a wide range of classes if you desire to work as a culinarian, a food specialist who advises eating establishments on their menus and critics popular restaurants. Culinarians often write a column in a regional or national publication dedicated to food trends.

3. Look toward a career as a pastry chef if your passion is for developing sweet delicacies that melt in your mouth. Pastry chefs prepare desserts and confections and are often employed by large restaurants or hotels that pride themselves on offering their guests elegant sweets.

4. Opt for a career in food testing if you love experimenting with different recipes and can’t quit until you find the perfect way to grill swordfish or create a delicious terrine. Large circulation cooking magazines employ cooks in their test kitchens to make the same recipes repeatedly until they have perfected the process.

5. Specialize in the restaurant industry by studying to be an executive chef, a sous-chef, line chef, pantry chef or work in a supportive position in the kitchen as a prep cook or a hot line assistant. The higher your degree and the more experience you have under your belt, the easier it will be for you to land a top chef job.

6. Start your own catering business. If you’re proud of your signature recipes and want to share them with the world but you aren’t ready to start a full-fledged restaurant, consider catering. In many states, you can work out of your home if it meets certain regulations and, best of all, you are free to set your own schedule.

7. Make food look terrific as a food stylist. If you’re proud of the way you plate dishes and present food to your family and guests, check out the opportunities for food stylists who work with food photographers to show food items to their best advantage. Not strictly a culinary arts career, a background in plating is a definite plus in this industry.