A must-have resource for anyone crafting a career in the culinary arts Ronald Hayes, the Career Development Manager with The Culinary Institute of America, explores the broad scope of jobs available in the culinary field. Building your culinary skills as a novice, discovering your specialization as a journeyman, and establishing your interests as you master your career path, Creating Your Culinary Career offers a framework for career exploration, development, and growth. This book offers insider information on all of the regular staff positions available in the culinary field, including traditional restaurants, catering facilities, and institutional facilities; front of the house, bakeshop, and food and beverage outlets; and food communications, media, and sales positions. It then helps readers establish goals, design resumes, and develop interview skills for landing that perfect job. The ideal career guide for aspiring culinary professionals, this book helps readers discover the ideal career path by building skills and setting goals Written by The Culinary Institute of America's Career Development Manager, this book celebrates the passion, persistence, and drive required to succeed in one of today's most exciting careers For anyone beginning a career in the culinary arts, Creating Your Culinary Career features must-have information for the aspiring food professional.

Recommended for readers seeking a thorough introductory exposure to today's professional possibilities in the culinary world.—Eric Petersen, Kansas City P.L., MO, Library Journal Turn a passion for food into the job of a lifetime with the insider advice in Culinary Careers. Working in food can mean cooking on the line in a restaurant, of course, but there are so many more career paths available. No one knows this better than Rick Smilow—president of the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), the award-winning culinary school in New York City—who has seen ICE graduates go on to prime jobs both in and out of professional kitchens. Tapping into that vast alumni network and beyond, Culinary Careers is the only career book to offer candid portraits of dozens and dozens of coveted jobs at all levels to help you find your dream job. Instead of giving glossed-over, general descriptions of various jobs, Culinary Careers features exclusive interviews with both food-world luminaries and those on their way up, to help you discover what a day in the life is really like in your desired field. • Get the ultimate in advice from those at the very pinnacle of the industry, including Lidia Bastianich, Thomas Keller, and Ruth Reichl. • Figure out whether you need to go to cooking school or not in order to land the job you want. • Read about the inspiring—and sometimes unconventional—paths individuals took to reach their current positions. • Find out what employers look for, and how you can put your best foot forward in interviews. • Learn what a food stylist’s day on the set of a major motion picture is like, how a top New York City restaurant publicity firm got off the ground, what to look for in a yacht crew before jumping on board as the chef, and so much more. With information on educational programs and a bird’s-eye view of the industry, Culinary Careers is a must-have resource for anyone looking to break into the food world, whether you’re a first-time job seeker or a career changer looking for your next step.

Because of the relentlessly-demanding nature of the culinary industry, you must first be honest with yourself and make sure you're truly passionate about cooking. If you don't have a real passion for what you should be viewing as an art (culinary art), you'll quickly become frustrated along the journey, which will seriously hamper your chances of career advancement. But if you are indeed passionate about cuisine, then becoming a chef may seem like a natural step for you to formalize your culinary interest and turn it into a rewarding career. Besides your undying passion there is the very real possibility of a great salary that you'd earn doing what you love, a great opportunity for career advancement and very positive job-growth projections. You can very easily become overwhelmed with the seemingly endless requirements you're expected to fulfill in the quest of becoming a qualified chef, and that's exactly why this book was written: to clarify the path. Learn exactly where and how to get started, the cost and time commitment requirements, how to overcome challenges (such as the lack of adequate funds to finance your culinary schooling), where to get a job once suitably qualified, and how to advance in your culinary career and move up the ladder - assuming your ambition is to soon become an executive (head) chef.

Exploring the essence of becoming a chef, this book reveals the elusive, unnameable elements of great cooking.

For those who delight in combing unusual ingredients and preparing delicious meals, a career as a chef can be a great option. This instructive resource offers readers a look at what it's really like to work as part of a team of chefs in a hectic restaurant kitchen, as a private chef in someone's home, and in many other places where chefs can be found. Readers will learn about culinary school, apprenticeships, and other training options. With sidebars on celebrity chefs and profiles of restaurant owners who have capitalized on unique concepts for restaurants, this book is entertaining as well as illuminating.

After twenty-five years of 'sex, drugs, bad behaviour and haute cuisine', chef and novelist Anthony Bourdain has decided to tell all. From his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as a dishwasher in a honky-tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown; from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop the Rockefeller Center to drug dealers in the East Village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again, Bourdain's tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable, as shocking as they are funny.

"What an extraordinary book! Pain, gain, joy, pathos, and the aroma of braised short ribs. It made me want to open (God forbid!) another restaurant. I never thought anyone could capture the magic and mission of being a chef, but theyve done it!" Barbara Tropp, Chef-Owner, China Moon Cafe "An unusually comprehensive book, immensely readable, at once passionate and coherent, probing and well-informed. For anyone interested in the historic coming of age of the professional American kitchen, this is a requisite buy." Michael and Ariane Batterberry, Founding Editors and Associate Publishers of Food Arts "Finally, a book that lets chefs speak for themselves! An insightful look at the complex life of a professional chef in the 90s. Fascinating portraits of the people who have defined American cuisinewho they are and how they got to be where they are today. Anyone who is interested in becoming a chef will find this book invaluablethis is what it takes to make it." Mark Miller, Chef-Owner, Coyote Cafe and Red Sage "After reading this book, I understand that becoming an outstanding leader is not very different from becoming a chef. Both roles require passion, discipline, authenticity, and an experimental attitude. On top of that, organizing a kitchen may be as difficult as organizing any business. Not only will present and future chefs and restaurateurs want to read this book, but anyone with a taste for excellent cooking and excellent leadership will find something of interest on every page." Warren Bennis, Distinguised Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California and Author, On Becoming a Leader and Leaders "Becoming a Chef is a marvelous book for the interested home cook as well as the aspiring chef. Like great wines with great food, there are great dishes and a great education here." Robert Mondavi, Founder, Robert Mondavi Winery