An Inside Look at Culinary Classes

Posted: February 24, 2010

The day to day life of a culinary arts student can be hectic and exhausting. They must arrive fully prepared and keenly aware of each step they make to ensure they become a success. Although it can be tough tackling the coursework, doing something they love can make all of the hard work worth it in the end.

The life of a culinary arts student can be pretty hectic. Training to be a chef encompasses a variety of exercises to enhance one’s expertise 100%. This means memorization of recipes and ingredients, perfect execution of dishes, and paying attention to time restraints as well as your coworkers. Classes in culinary school in some ways play out like a boot camp for chefs. They are put through rigorous training methods in order to achieve greatness, where even the smallest detail of their performance is important.

Classes for training chefs begin quite early in the morning, where required cooking attire is expected every day. Students must wear four-way aprons so that they can wipe their hands as needed on a clean space. They must also have a collection of side towels available at all times strictly for handling hot dishes. Other supplies are necessary for each class period including thermometers for meat and fish cooking, notebooks, pens, and markers for note-taking and food labeling, and prepared recipe cards which must be written out each day to increase memorization and preparation of dishes.

Other necessary tasks must first be done before any actual cooking can be take place. Each day, depending on the assignment given, students must enter the classroom kitchen and assemble every pot, pan, utensil, and ingredient they will need in order to cook. Rubber mats for safety must be set, fans and ovens turned on, and sanitizing buckets or sinks must be filled.

Because of the number of students in one kitchen and the time-sensitive material which they are each struggling to complete, their learning environment can be quite hectic. They can expect to weave in and out of hurried fellow students while handling hot dishes and sharp knives, which can sometimes create a dangerous environment if they aren’t careful. The struggle for clean utensils or unoccupied burners can become an added strain on one’s ability to complete their assignment; however, this environment is very closely reminiscent of actual restaurant environments giving students a better idea of their careers ahead.

Sometimes students will work in teams and other days solo. The assignments are given out by the Instructors which can be a variety of dishes such as meats, sauces, or side dishes in which they must prepare them according to how many party members they are. Upon completion of every dish the head chef, or teacher, will taste-test and comment on each one, offering their professional critique. Afterwards, students are allowed to taste each other’s dishes if time permits and then the entire kitchen must be cleaned and ready for the next class period.

The remainder of a culinary student’s day consists of lecture courses where they will learn about techniques, recipes, and food history. Reading assignments and homework is often to be done that night. Students must always be prepared or their work the next day will suffer due to insufficient studying.

Although many undergraduates in the culinary schools find their day-to-day coursework to be hectic and grueling they are also quite passionate about learning and can find their classes to be very satisfying. The expectation of taking on a new cooking challenge is an incredibly gratifying experience. No matter what the demands, one can be certain that if they are passionate about their craft they will endure anything that goes into the learning process because they love it so much.