Is Culinary School Worth the Price of Admission?

Recently I read the 2006 Star Chef Salary report and ran across some disturbing information. The survey itself is a discussion of salaries for employees of the culinary industry, but the thing that struck me came at the end of the report and was in reference to culinary school. One of the conclusions of the research was this:

"Reductively, the numbers say this: Executive Chefs make greater salaries when they: A) complete a stage, B) work in a restaurant outside of the US and C) receive a non-culinary degree. They make less money when they go to culinary school, on average, than chefs who did not go to culinary school." (StarChefs.com)

Did you catch that last part? Those that do not attend culinary school, on average, were more financially successful than those that did. That is a scary thought for the hundreds of thousands of students who enroll each year.

As a professional at a culinary school, I am often asked whether I think a culinary education is worth the ever rising cost. The honest answer is that I think it is solely dependant on the student's reasons for attending culinary school and the results they expect to see when they complete their degree.

Reasons:

DON'T DO IT: If your purpose for attending culinary school is to learn how to "cook"; hoping to cook for family or friends, throw parties, or entertain, you should look at another option. Simply learning to cook or dabbling in food is not a worthy reason for spending $40,000+ on the education. There are many other opportunities that will offer you the lessons without the cost that culinary school carries with it. Try your local community college or area cooking stores for listings.

GO FOR IT: If your purpose for attending culinary school is to learn the fundamentals of classic food preparation, the specific knife cuts and cooking techniques and the theories behind it all; then you may be in the right place. Having the basic skills ingrained into the psyche will benefit you when you launch your career in the industry. From those techniques, you can build and mature, growing in your abilities and expanding your repertoire of flavor. For these reasons, the cost of culinary school is far outweighed by the benefit.

Results:

DON'T DO IT: If you picture yourself stepping off that graduation stage and stepping into an Executive Chef position at a 4 star restaurant, you will be sorely disappointed. If you believe that culinary school is your ticket to the Food Network, your own show, fame and fortune, you may want to think again. While it is admirable to strive for such goals in the long term, simply paying lofty tuition prices and attending culinary school does not promise these results. As witnessed by the Star Chef Salary Survey, there are so many other steps and components to creating a successful culinary career, that merely attending school will not take you very far. In fact, choosing to only attend culinary school, without the added components of international study or a stage in a top-rated location, can actually harm rather than help. In any field and any educational situation, you cannot trust that throwing your money at a University or institution will guarantee you anything but added knowledge. Even the student at the top of their class starts at the bottom of the ladder when they hit the "real world"

GO FOR IT: If you view culinary school as a step in your career plan, an opportunity to learn and enhance your skills, and a chance to network with those in your desired industry, you are in the right place. The results of a culinary education are subtle and usually present themselves later in your career when you are up against another cook for a promotion or trying to establish a place of your own. The education gained in culinary school will often place you one step above the rest and exhibit your passion for and dedication to the industry. If you understand and are willing to accept that you will have to work your way to the top, the money spent on culinary school can be seen as an investment in your future.

The culinary industry is definitely one in which education is only a component of employment and experience weighs more heavily on the decision for promotion. Don't get me wrong, I think that culinary school is a great opportunity to learn and perfect skills and techniques; to start with the classical basics and create a foundation from which to grow. However, it all depends on the student's realistic reasons for attending culinary school and the expected results when they graduate. Weigh the options carefully, plot out the pros and cons and you will not regret the final decision made.