![]() I think that’s an important lesson.”*Ĭulinary school can provide students with the opportunity to practice certain techniques over and over again, while receiving advice and feedback from Chef Instructors. ![]() And then being uncomfortable kind of loses its meaning and your confidence builds. “The more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, or new situations, the better you get at being in those uncomfortable situations. However, rather than throw in the towel and call it quits, it’s time to try again! The first time you roll out ravioli or sear a filet, the results are unlikely to be perfect. While multiple responsibilities like walking the dog, washing a load of laundry, and preparing dinner may have once seemed overwhelming, culinary school can help you manage these tasks with a bit more ease. Simply attending culinary school can provide you with the opportunity to practice balance, as you work to successfully juggle your coursework with personal life, family, and maybe even a job. Not only can improving time management help you in the kitchen, but it can also help you better manage and balance aspects of your personal life. That may mean making the purée, washing the spinach, and cutting the potatoes ahead of time, so you can assemble the final components as the pork chop is resting. Not only do you have to prepare all of these components, but you’ll need to time it so that each one is done at the same time. Let’s say you’re preparing a dish that consists of a smoked pork chop and mashed potatoes and spinach with a carrot purée. By managing your time well, you can feel more in control of what’s happening in the kitchen, rather than feeling like the kitchen has control over you. This may involve organizing your workstation ahead of time ( mise en place is key), recognizing and prioritizing the most urgent tasks, and making the most of every available minute. If you’ve ever spent time in a professional kitchen, you know there are dozens of things happening at once, and not every dish involves a non-stop linear process.Īs a culinary school student, you can practice how to embrace time management as you tackle an evolving list of tasks. “Teamwork is dream work, and you need to have one eye and one ear on everyone else in the space at all times.”*Ĭhef Steve Konopelski, Escoffier Pastry Arts Instructor 3. By spending time in working kitchens, students can practice being a great teammate, whether that means delegating a task when they’re overwhelmed, jumping from their prep station to remove a pan of burning onions, or cleaning up their and their co-worker’s workstations at the end of the day. In culinary school, you can learn how to work with classmates to accomplish your goals, whether that’s creating a well-balanced dish or executing the assembly of hundreds of hors d’oeuvres.Įscoffier students can also continue to see the importance of teamwork during their culinary externship. No matter if you’re working as the Chef de Cuisine or as a Garde-manger, you’ll be expected to work with others both in and out of your station. ![]() While the coveted title of chef is only given to one person at a time, a whole team of people stands behind these talented individuals. As a culinary school student, you can work to humbly accept critiques from Chef Instructors and other students alike. We have all had to cook with the Ron Burgundys of the kitchen world.”*Ĭhef Meghann Shaffer, Escoffier Pastry Arts InstructorĪlong with showing you how to be open to learning, culinary school can also provide you opportunities to practice accepting constructive criticism. “Arrogance can cause unnecessary chaos in a kitchen, frustrating to deal with. You may have the opportunity to explore unfamiliar flavor profiles in classes like Escoffier’s World Cuisines course, and you may discover a new strategy to improve familiar tasks like dicing onions and searing steaks. While you may think the best chefs walk around like they know everything, the opposite is true! Top chefs know how to check their ego at the door and view each moment as a learning opportunity.Īnd culinary school is certainly not short on opportunities to learn something new. Here are some lessons from culinary school that you can use every day – and not just in culinary contexts! 1. ![]() While culinary education may introduce you to skills and techniques that can help set you up for a culinary career, it can also teach you things that you can use every day, both in and out of the kitchen. Knife skills? How to combine flavors? The best way to order ingredients? If you’re thinking about attending culinary school, you’re probably wondering what you can learn. ![]()
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