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07/05/2001 Archived Entry: "Culinary Careers"

Not everyone who wants to be a chef is cut out to be a chef, and being a chef isn’t nearly as glamorous as the media makes it look. A fraction of a percent make it to the executive chef position, where you are not usually stuck in a hot, stressful kitchen all day, but supervising people who are stuck in a hot, stressful kitchen all day. A miniscule percentage of a percent make the leap to celebrity chef, to TV personality, product endorser, you get the picture ... big money-maker. As I say frequently, with, truly, no demeaning meaning, chefs are blue collar workers in white uniforms.

Many aspiring culinarians understand this before they set out to be chefs. They know they want to be in the food world in some way, even in the restaurant business, but they don’t know what all the possibilities are. And there are many.

I assembled a panel of experts the other day to address the subject: careers in culinary.

Frank Garafolo is a chef-professor, director of purchasing and man of many toques at Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School. He used to be a working chef with his own restaurant. He has a master’s degree in education. He is, in fact, an example of what you can do in the culinary world other than being a working restaurant chef. Besides teaching budding professionals at Peter Kump, he teaches recreational cooks (you and me) at cooking schools around the metro area.

Christopher Papagni is director of the French Culinary Institute, as well as the dean of students. In essence, he is the school principal. In addition, he is responsible for job placement, so he knows very well what the many possibilities are, including business and management positions, being a personal chef, and teaching. He has a doctorate in education administration, as well as a culinary degree.

Vicki Caparulo is the recent past-president of the New York Cooking Teachers Association and a very active cooking teacher in the New York metro area. She also does food styling, recipe and product development for food companies and retailers, as well as recipe consulting for restaurants. Those, she pointed out, are just a few of the things culinarians can do besides being a working chef.

Following are some resources that were mentioned during the program.

BOOKS
Foodwork: Jobs in The Food Industry and How To Get Them by Barbara Sims-Bell

Career Opportunities in the Food and Beverage Industry by Barbara Sims-Bell

PHONE NUMBERS
U.S. Personal Chef Association
800-995-2138
Website: www.uspca.com
Being a personal chef is something like being a caterer, except that you cook for people in their homes, sometimes bringing food cooked on your own premises, sometimes cooking in the client’s kitchen. The Personal Chef Association has materials that instruct you how to set up a business, plus it offers continuing education and advice.

www.uspca.com
French Culinary Institute
462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013; 212-219-8890, 888-FCI-CHEF
Website: www.frenchculinary.com
Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School
50 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010; 212-847-0700, 800-522-4610
Website: www.newyorkculinary.com

OTHER EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
New School University Culinary Arts Program
66 W. 12th Street, New York, NY 10011; 212-255-4141
Website: www.nsu.newschool.edu
The programs offered here are mostly recreational, but there are some classes for professional training.
New York Restaurant School
75 Varick Street, 16th floor, New York, NY 10013; 212-226-5500, 800-654-2433
Website: www.nyrs.artinstitutes.edu
This is a professional trade school with an excellent reputation and a good history of job placement.
New York City Technical College (CityTech)
300 Jay St., Namm G17, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 718-260-5250
Website: www.nyctc.cuny.edu
This is a highly regarded unit of the New York University system and it offers a two-year associates degree in restaurant and hotel management.