Students interested in food and food preparation can explore career options by enrolling in the “Culinary Arts” course pathway of the hospitality and tourism cluster. The Bureau of Labor and statistics continues to expect a 6.4% growth in beverage and food establishments from 2015 to 2024.
Students interested in culinary arts may find jobs in resorts, high-end hotels, fine dining restaurants, privately owned restaurants, local eateries, food trucks, catering, and high-end concession. Some related jobs would be food styling, restaurant critic, nutritionist, dietitian, travel agent, and hotel or resort marketing manager.
The culinary arts pathway focuses on food preparation, presentation, food safety, recipe and menu development, and basic management principles. Food and beverage management is the backbone of any endpoint destination property and the heartbeat of fine dining.
Candidates best suited for this pathway will be those interested in obtaining a career in the back of the house. (The kitchen). However, this is not to say Culinary Arts and the culinary arts pathway is exclusive to those seeking a career in the kitchen. For those interested in a career in hospitality and tourism culinary arts serves as a unifier or aggregator. Students are, who have a career interest in hospitality and tourism, benefited by taking the culinary arts pathway due to the intrinsic value of understanding food and food preparation.
Students completing the culinary arts pathway take three courses in succession. These courses are “Introduction to Culinary Arts, Culinary Arts One, and Culinary Arts Two. Our students also can participate in a Worked Base Learning Program or if desired, pursue dual enrollment.
Post-secondary education opportunities are as varied as career paths in the hospitality and tourism sector. Students can choose to continue their education by enrolling at one of the nationally recognized schools for chef training such as; “The Culinary Institute of America or one of Johnson and Wales campuses.” Chef candidates will also find local opportunities through community colleges or technical schools such as West Georgia Tech, Southern Crescent, or an apprenticeship program sponsored by “The American Culinary Federation.”
Students will find access to the culinary arts career field is obtained easily; however, success is not. All culinary arts candidates are advised to take advantage of the Career Training Student Organizations available at the Academy. These organizations include FCCLA, Skills USA, and our own Culinary Alliance.
Very few career paths offer the variety and range of job opportunities that are provided by culinary arts. The range of jobs and the degree of upward mobility has its price. Successful students will be self-motivated and continuous learners. Opportunities for apprenticeships and on-the-job training are easily attainable for those students with the proper mix of attitude, knowledge, skills, and desire. Professionalism and work ethic is the foundation students must stand on; there are no exceptions and no shortcuts.
If you feel you meet these qualifications, we welcome you to the opportunity of a lifetime.
Introduction to Culinary Arts
Introduction to Culinary Arts is the foundation class for the culinary arts pathway. Do not confuse this course with Family and Consumer Science. Successful students must be avid readers, have a scientific mindset, skilled critical thinkers, adept at mathematics, and able to work with a wide variety of students under stressful conditions.
The culinary arts pathway is for students who are interested in pursuing a career in culinary arts or investigating a career in the hospitality and tourism sector in a food and beverage capacity.
Hospitality, tourism, travel, food and beverage, commercial food production, and food sciences are some of the career opportunities that benefit from enhanced knowledge in food preparation.
Candidates should be self-motivated, responsible, and accountable. Class members are expected to have an elevated degree of technical proficiency along with advanced reading and writing skills. Communicating and collaboration digitally are essential as is the ability to research topics and construct effective search queries.
Students are required to participate in class discussion, and through teamwork, build integrity, develop professionalism and refine communication skills. These are the most highly sought qualities in new employees according to the most recent survey of hiring managers. In this respect, those ideally suited for this pathway will be self-starters seeking a high degree of autonomy and a strong desire to take their education “to the next level.”
The opportunity for amazing personal growth and the acquisition of culinary skills is directly proportional to the ability of the class to foster a culture of teamwork, unity, self-direction, and responsibility.
