Eating Gluten-Free: A Chef Career Can Make a Difference

By Marianne Salina

In a little Italian restaurant in New York, a customer can order appetizers, salads, and pasta from a gluten-free menu. Across the country in Edmonds, Washington, Kaili's Kitchen illustrates an innovative use of a chef degree by providing cakes, cookies, and even bagels without wheat or gluten. In today's dining world, dietary restrictions and consumer preferences are making a chef degree invaluable: creating tasty gluten- or dairy-free food is the new culinary challenge.

Chef Jobs Help Improve Lives

Diners these days have lots to ponder when they sit down for a meal. While many count carbs and frown upon pastas, some eaters can only dream of a tasty spaghetti dinner. With one in every 133 people suffering from Celiac Disease, an illness that makes people intolerant to wheat, rye, and barley, chef jobs are becoming increasingly important in the alternative-eating scene.

Today's chef career now goes beyond preparing tasty meals; it also provides a restaurant experience for those who often can't enjoy one. Particularly for the customer who craves a pizza or a slice of cake but can't process gluten, a chef degree with a focus on special needs diets can make a huge difference in the restaurant industry.

Gluten-Free Chef Career

A number of culinary programs are exploring dietary limitations and offering tasty ideas to those pursuing chef careers. Almost all chef jobs will give you the opportunity to satisfy a customer's hunger, but the career devoted to providing creative meals to those suffering from Celiac Disease is a service that isn't quickly forgotten.

Bakeries, pasta restaurants, and even pubs are offering chef jobs that cater to a hunger for good food that adheres to specific ingredient guidelines. Getting a chef degree might just be the fastest way into the hearts of diners and restaurant-goers everywhere.

Sources
Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program, Prospective Restaurant Information
"What is Celiac Disease?" Gluten Intolerance Group

About the Author
Marianne Salina is a freelance writer in Spokane, Washington. She writes about pursuits in education and degree opportunities.