A Brief Foray into Culinary School

By Austin Brentley

Many people dream about becoming a gourmet chef at one time or another. However, attending culinary school requires a fairly significant time commitment, not to mention the tuition and fees involved. As such, it is very difficult to "dabble" in this new hobby without making many personal sacrifices.

Try Taking a Cooking Class

Rather than attend full-time culinary school only to find out that it's not for you, you might try taking a cooking class instead. Most culinary schools offer introductory coursework that doesn't necessarily require lengthy commitments or binding contracts. Simply contact a few of the local cooking schools in your area and request course materials. Reviews syllabi for those classes that interest you most and see if you can take them on a provisional basis. If, after a few weeks, you really enjoy the material, simply apply those credits from the cooking class (or classes) and go for the full degree.

Cooking Classes: A Win-Win Situation

What is the worst that can happen if you attend culinary school part time and don't like it? You walk away from your cooking class with a few extra skills under your belt. In addition, you can scratch "gourmet chef" off your list of potential dream jobs. What is the very best that can happen? Your casual foray into the world of cooking will expose you to an exciting new career. Either way, you come out on top. You don't necessarily need to shell out a whole lot of money, and you don't necessarily have to devote huge portions of your time. Can medical school, law school or even business school say the same?

Making the Most of Your Cooking Class

Even if culinary school is not ultimately in the cards for you, the skills that you'll learn during your first few classes will last you a lifetime. There is a wealth of useful information you can supplement with your newfound skills such that you become a fairly competent cook on your own if you so decide.

About the Author
A freelance writer and researcher, Austin Brentley currently lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand. His previous experience includes working for a lobbying firm in his native Washington, DC, teaching English in Japan, and working for various record and television studios in New York.