If you're already working in the culinary field, maybe as a chef or in a catering business, you probably already have both a love and understanding of the field and a background you can build on by taking courses in culinary management.

Courses in culinary management go beyond cooking and into the business side of feeding people. You'll take courses in human resources, accounting, business communications, food safety, wine service, hospitality, and some computer classes too.

What is Culinary Management? Culinary management offers the best of both worlds if you happen to be in love with both business and food. With a degree in culinary management, you could find yourself:

• Working as a food inspector for the health department
• Opening your own restaurant
• Working as a food and beverage manager for a cruise ship or fancy hotel

Food and beverage managers in large hotels and upscale resorts and even on cruise ships are hospitality workers, and customer service is chief among their concerns. They're responsible for working with executive chefs to determine menus and working with customers to determine desires. They're responsible for the food every step of the way, from ordering through preparation through delivering it to the table of hungry customers. It's a culinary management position that mixes a thorough knowledge of cooking with an equally thorough understanding of business principles and customer relations.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, careers in the culinary management field are expected to keep growing through 2012. Food managers in 2002 made a median annual salary of $36,000 and as the population grows the demand for services grows. If you love both food and business, culinary management may be the career for you.

Sources
Food Service Managers(http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos024.htm)



Learn more about culinary arts programs at cooking academies near you.