Cooking schools offer a variety of programs catering to your specific needs. Some students are aspiring chefs who want to work in a restaurant or hotel and start a career in the hospitality industry. These people often go for the nationally accredited certificates and degrees that cooking schools offer. Others who have personal rather than professional goals may desire to impress their partners with interesting recipes and newfound cooking skills.
Considerations
Consider specifically what you want to be in the hospitality world. Do you want to be a baker, pastry chef, cook or head chef? Do you want to work under supervision? Or do you have leadership skills and want to run a kitchen? How much time and effort are you willing to dedicate to culinary arts academically and then professionally? You may want to consider answering these questions before beginning studies in the culinary arts.
Programs
A diploma in culinary arts can be earned within one year. Graduates may starttheir careers as an entry-level pastry chef or cook. An associate's degree takes about two years to complete and moves into a more specialized area--along with culinary courses, you also get to learn math, science and business courses to supplement your skills. An associate's degree holder may start his career as a head chef or pastry chef assistant. A bachelor's degree takes four years to complete, is highly specialized and lands you a head chef's or manager's position.
Pinellas Technical
Pinellas Technical Education Center's Culinary Arts department offers a Kitchen Personnel/Cook Training program and a Culinary Arts/Chef Training program. Courses focus on food preparation and food service management. Two course examples are: Course HMV0170--"Restaurant Cook"--300 hours, and Course HMV0171--"Chef/Head Cook"--also 300 hours. All courses are taught with the aid of multimedia and practical demonstration in a kitchen setting. Programs aim to prepare culinary specialists who are ready to join the hospitality industry.
Cooking Schools Near Clearwater
The Art Institute of Tampa is located 37 minutes east of Clearwater. It offers an associate's degree in Baking and Pastry. The Culinary Arts associate's degree program covers basic knife and hand skills as well as local and international cuisines. A bachelor's degree in Culinary Management teaches leadership, communication, accounting, organizational behavior, human resources, customer relations and everything else you need to know regarding a management position's skills and job responsibilities.
Culinary Management at Hillsborough Community College
Hillsborough Community College in Tampa offers a two-year associate's degree program in Culinary Management. The program is designed to help you acquire the necessary skills to become a restaurant cook or chef. It is a 64 credit program and courses teach you introduction to computers; food sanitation and safety; food preparation; food and beverage purchase; control, planning; and storage, along with supervisory development and human nutrition.
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