So you know you love to cook… But do you want to become a professional chef? If so, where should you begin? How can you make cooking your career?
This career guide provides a quick and easy reference depicting what most professional chefs say about their culinary arts training and their career. Where should you begin? Where should you study to undergo extensive culinary arts training? How do you become an apprentice in a well-known cooking program? Are there shortcuts? What do well known professional chefs say about their path to success? What do chefs make and what is the career outlook for culinary professionals? (We will continue to update this section to provide additional information.)
Overview
Most professional chefs started their careers by spending four years at an accredited culinary art school. The best culinary schools are those that include the Le Cordon Bleu as an important part of their training. (This website provides information from the very best culinary schools. To find a map of cooking schools near you, click here.)
Following culinary school, most career chefs spend at least five years working under head chefs at different...