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The Culinary Arts Express Education
Hang on students! Now that you’ve got the basic skills of food safety and stock preparation under your belt, it’s time to dig a little deeper. Have a good look around the kitchen because you’re about to become very familiar with everything in it. That kitchen equipment is your friend, which is why it’s so important to learn how to look after it. Everything you learn is going to have long-term implications. For example, imagine owning your own fine dining establishment. If you have to fork out wads of cash for kitchen equipment repairs, or appliance replacement, your profits are going to quickly dwindle.
Don’t be discouraged though. At this stage of your learning experience, you’re going to really get a taste of the big picture. This is where you move into one specific kitchen department. You could find yourself in the fish, meat, or pastry department. Maybe you’ll get into the catering piece. Make sure to look after yourself and keep your energy up, because your culinary arts education is going to quickly shift into overdrive. For example, students of the French Culinary Institute quickly move into a variety of subjects early into the second level of their training. They get into menu design, ingredient choice, nutrition, pairing tastes and colors, using raw and cooked foods, etc.
The next time you’re in a restaurant, pay attention to how many meals are built around pasta, rice, and grains. A lot! That’s why culinary arts students start right from square one learning about all of these things. For students of the French Culinary Institute, it’s an intense, sometimes emotional, and deeply satisfying ride.
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Italian Culture and Cuisine
Did you know that the French Culinary Institute in New York City has a sister? Her name is The Italian Culinary Academy and she’s beckoning you to join her in Italy. Come on! Does that not sound exciting to you? Even a person not interested in becoming a chef would want to register as a student for this opportunity!
Students of this program spend 10 weeks learning the basics in New York City, and then hone their skills during an 18 week trip to Italy. Nine of those weeks are spent apprenticing in Italian restaurants. The curriculum includes the essence of cooking pasta, pizza, polenta, Italian Meat, Italian Poultry, pastries, gelato, knife skills, deboning and filleting.
It’s hard to wrap your head around the idea of spending that much time in Italy, at the heart of the culinary experience. The best way to learn is to totally immerse yourself in the culture, which is exactly what students are encouraged to do. In order to really bring some culture to the kitchen, you actually have to step out of the kitchen once in a while.
Learning the language and the culture are important aspects of the learning experience. Students should be able to bring a certain flair and flavor to their dishes that don’t entirely rely on garlic, onions, and spices. When you understand the culture you’re representing in your cuisine, you bring a special nuance to the dish. For this reason, students of the French Culinary Institute’s sister college are given the opportunity to make Italy their temporary stomping ground.
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Hoping for the Best; Planning for the Worst
If you’re a culinary institute student moving into Level 4 of your training, it’s time to put on your management hat on because you’re going to be making some big decisions.First there’s a large buffet to plan for, weekly menus to prepare, and ingredients to order.At this stage of the game, you’ll be evaluated on everything you do, from the traffic flow you create to the way you and your team organize and create menus for the college staff.
There are a lot of things that can go right, and a lot of things that can go wrong.Always be prepared for the things that can go wrong.For students in New York City, ordering a wide variety of ethnic ingredients shouldn’t be a problem.But there’s always the chance that you won’t get your ingredients in time, you get the wrong ingredients, or your grand idea turned flat at the last minute.As a professional culinary arts student, you and your team will really have to work closely together to make it work, no matter what happens.This is where the real testing begins.Do you completely lose it and walk out on your team, or do you work together to come up with a solution?
At this stage of the game, you’re really going to be in the thick of things.You’ve aced the mid-terms and you’re moving quickly into the drama and theatre of the culinary arts.It’s time to think on your feet, utilize your problem-solving skills, and stay focused.
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Show Time! Taking Your Culinary Skills to the Real World
There’s nothing quite as exhilarating and nerve-wracking as knowing that at any minute, the rug is going to be yanked out from under you. Decisions will be yours to make. The silver platter of kitchen management will soon be handed over to you. At this stage of your culinary arts education, it’s important to keep your head high. Remember your accomplishments so far and take comfort in knowing that you wouldn’t be given this opportunity if you didn’t have the skills to back it up.
It’s show time. If you happen to be a student of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, it’s at this stage of the game when you move into the renowned on-campus restaurant L’Ecole. Here, you’ll be preparing meals and menus. Everything you’ve learned comes together here at L’Ecole. If you’re not fortunate enough to be a student at the French Culinary Institute, you might be able to use this stage of your education to move on to voluntary internships where you’ll get a similar experience. You need to put yourself out there in the real world of restaurant and meal management in order to gain the confidence you need to become a chef.
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A Team of Cooks
Just as your independent creativity starts to soar, it’s time to get familiar with teamwork. As a culinary arts student, it’s vitally important to work as a team. Unless you’re a one-man robot with a penchant for dozens of energy drinks, you’ll never manage alone in a busy restaurant kitchen. It’s the teamwork that brings everything together. Relax! When you’ve reached this point of your education, you know you’ve reached a critical summit. This is when the real learning begins. As you work together with your classmates, keep in mind that you’ll be marked not only on the food creation and presentation, but on how well you worked as a team.
Not everyone is comfortable working so closely with classmates, especially when the final outcome is going to reflect your mark. However, it’s important to develop this skill, whether you love it or not. This is where your humility should shine through, allowing yourself to hear and maturely respond to constructive criticism. Listen to what your classmates have to say; they too come to the kitchen with past experiences, ideas, and learning to offer. Just listen and absorb critiques as they come to you. Keep them on the back burner. You never know when they’re going to come in handy.
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Culinary Arts - The First Steps
As much as you want to head right to the kitchen, there are a few basics you first have to learn in cooking school.As a new culinary arts student, you might be anxious to start cooking, but it’s important to learn the foundations of the curriculum so that you’ll be prepared to eventually get into the more advanced cooking techniques.The introductory skills you’ll learn as a culinary arts student are your initial building blocks.Flavor doesn’t come to a meal when you cook it first and add the stock later.It’s the stocks and sauces; crèmes and pates, that should come first in the culinary arts education.
Now, stop and have a look around the kitchen you’ll be working in for the next several months.Pretty big knives!Do you know how to use them safely and efficiently?If you don’t want your first day in the kitchen to look like a Saturday Night Live skit, pay attention to the safety training aspect of the curriculum.Personal safety and safe food handling should be taken as seriously as any other part of your culinary arts education.
As a new culinary arts student, you’re going to bursting with energy and anticipation.Just remember, these building block foundations in your curriculum are going to follow you throughout your entire career.
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Confidence Building 101
You’ve seen the chefs on television, or in famous restaurants. Just think back to the workshops held in class with executive chefs. Chances are they oozed confidence, skills, and intelligence. These chefs really knew what they were talking about. They’ve lived. They’ve experienced. Many of them have travelled and worked in different parts of the world. This is what it takes to reach that caliber of professionalism. So don’t beat yourself up as a recent graduate of a culinary institute. It takes time to reach that point, and whether you reach it or not is completely up to you.
Not every culinary institute graduate will become the esteemed guest lecturer at colleges and universities. Not every culinary institute graduate will become famous television personalities, or open restaurants that will become world renowned. That’s okay! As you start to build your culinary skills and real-world experience, keep in mind that there is a special niche for you. If you know who you are as a person, where your strengths lie, and what you want to get out of your new career, the rest will fall into place.
Everyone has moments of doubt, and sometimes the only way to propel your self forward is by taking a giant leap of faith. If you’re a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, you’ve had the advantage of learning from the best. The best of the best graduate from New York culinary schools. You’re more than prepared to take that first step into the real world.
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