Everything you wanted to know about culinary school but were afraid to ask

Five years ago, I got the itch to return to school. I’ve always wanted to open my own catering business, but other than working as a short-order cook in a bowling alley, and operating food concession booths at local fairs, but what I lacked was ‘real’ kitchen experience. Family and friends encouraged me to do ‘something’ with my talent in the kitchen.

So in 2002, I enrolled in a part-time evening program at the Connecticut Culinary Institute. Three main courses of study were available; Advanced Culinary Arts Program, Professional Pastry and Baking, and Advanced Italian Culinary Arts. I chose the Advanced Culinary Arts Program, figuring that this would afford me a wide variety of skills. Besides, I already knew that my cake decorating skills were deplorable, so pastry was out for me.

The admissions process was quite easy. Since this was a certificate program, and not a degree program, all that was required was a high school diploma. I also had to take a standardized test of basic skills, much like those we’ve all encountered in elementary school or high school. After that, the next hurdle was financing tuition. Culinary school does not come cheaply, even for a part-time non-degree program. I ended up working a part time job on weekends to help, and took out a small student loan.

Prior to our first day of class, I had to pick up my uniform. These consisted of a white chef’s coat, hat, and checkered pants. We were all required to wear closed-toe, sturdy shoes with a non-skid sole. Dansko clogs are generally the shoe of choice in the professional kitchen, and for good reason. They are the most comfortable shoe I’ve ever worn, which is important when you’re on your feet all day!

On the first day, we were given a tour of the kitchen, which was impressive, and pretty much my dream kitchen. Who wouldn’t want a walk-in refrigerator and a twelve-burner Viking stove? After that, we returned to the classroom, and Chef Dave explained how classes would work. We would spend the first hour or so in lecture, which would involve planning a menu and assigning tasks, then we would hit the kitchen and cook everything we had just discussed. And we’d get to eat our results afterward. Of course, we were also responsible for clean-up of the kitchen – washing dishes, mopping floors, and sanitizing all the food prep surfaces.

Next the class was handed a ServSafe workbook. ServSafe is the restaurant industry’s standardized procedure for food safety and sanitation. Most restaurants will require their chefs to have this training, and certifications are valid for five years. Honestly, much of this is simply common sense – don’t cross contaminate potentially hazardous foods (i.e., raw chicken) with other food items; sanitize, sanitize, sanitize – recommended cooking temperatures, as well as safe temperatures for holding hot foods, such as you’d encounter in a buffet. We had two lectures on ServSafe, then took the standardized test. Thankfully, I passed.

At the same time I was learning about ServSafe, I was also learning knife skills during the kitchen portion of class. After paying our ‘equipment fee’, each student was given a set of Wusthof knives. In my knife skills class, I mostly used my 8’ chef’s knife. I learned how to slice uniformly, julienne, and dice. I also learned some fancier cuts like the tourner. This is a cutting technique, used mostly on root vegetables such as carrots, which results in a football-shaped finished piece with seven equal sides and flat ends. And yes – Chef Dave would count to see if we had seven sides, and not six or eight. Along with the knife skills, I also learned how to properly use the mandolin.

Up to this point, I was marveling on how easily everything had come to me thus far. But…the class had not yet gotten into the kitchen to actually cook something! The hardest work was yet to come.

-chefker