Young people who love to cook, after graduation from school, decide to connect their lives with the world of cooking. However, they are faced with the question of which educational institution to go, so as not to lose the ardor for business and love for the profession on a thorny educational path. It was to resolve this issue that this article was prepared, in which we will once and for all figure out where to learn how to cook as a cook for all who are partial to works of edible art.
What do cooks do and where are they needed?
You can not proceed to consider the question of where to study as a cook, without establishing what this profession consists of. After all, graduates may have certain illusions about this area of activity. Chefs are professionals in the culinary path, especially in demand in such megacities as Moscow, St. Petersburg and others, that is, in cities with widely developed areas of restaurant and hotel services, which form an enduring demand for specialists in the field of creating tasty, good, high-quality food. Of course, in order to get to luxury establishments, like La plage or Composer restaurants, you will need to provide a decent track record, information about experience, experience and qualifications. However, all this, over time and if there is a desire, even comes to those who start with ordinary school canteens, hospitals, state or private organizations and firms.
The most promising areas
Today, a question that is relevant for many young people is “Where to study as a pastry chef?” Why? The fact is that the field of creating sweet products is one of the most promising, well-paid, prestigious and popular areas of the cookery world. In addition to her, the vast majority of applicants choose the specialty of a cook-culinary specialist, cook-technologist and chef. Professionals of these 4 branches are currently the most competitive and can claim decent earnings.
The chef is responsible for the theory rather than practice. He himself is not so actively involved in creating dishes, but he organizes the general process, is responsible for warehouses, products, the development of new recipes and the adjustment of old ones, and also sets up a recipe map that the restaurant follows.
The cook-technologist is an employee who is engaged in a variety of estimates, as well as the compilation and direct creation of dishes. It is on his shoulders that competent heat treatment lays down, adding the necessary amount of spices, adjusting the time, etc.
Finally, the chef is the head, the highest link in the whole process. 3 main provisions of activity are fixed to it. Each of them requires professionalism and competence:
- The study of taste desires, passions and priorities of visitors to a particular institution.
- Drawing up recipes. This item is inextricably linked to the item above, since it is on the basis of the data received that the chef regulates the system of recipes, dishes, innovations, changes.
- Monitoring the procurement process and ensuring that products are delivered to the establishment in the right quantities and first-class quality.
All of the above areas are combined in a universal curriculum "Food Technology Products." This may serve as the first point in answering the question of where to study as a cook. In what places can this specialty be obtained? We move further in order to establish this.
Where can I learn to cook after grade 9?
After completing the main course of secondary school, any graduate who has passed the certification exams well can enter the culinary college (college). The advantage of getting an education in such a school is its practical orientation, because the diploma and assigned specialty allow you to immediately find a job and begin to apply the acquired knowledge in real life. In the first courses in such an educational institution, the main program will be taught, which was supposed to be completed by a graduate in grades 10-11, however, studying will not be easier as an example than at school, because there will be no next certification exams on the nose.
For graduates of 9th grades the general program course of the technical school is 4 years, for graduates of 11th grades (there are such cases, too) - only 3 years. As a result, the graduate of the school will receive a secondary vocational education, a diploma of a pastry chef or a cook with a certificate confirming the qualifications of the 3rd or 4th category immediately (out of 6 possible). Technical schools, colleges and schools, therefore, are a good and economical option for those who do not yet know where to study as a cook. By the way, the admission here takes place when providing only a certificate with grades, as well as the successful completion of 2 basic compulsory subjects: mathematics and the Russian language. No additional exams are required. A popular educational institution for applicants is the Moscow Food College.
Universities and institutes
If graduates with incomplete secondary education now know where to study (cooks after the 9th grade are now preparing for professional activities in a number of educational institutions of various cities), then for 11th grade graduates the question of obtaining education in a similar field remains open. They can be invited to choose a higher culinary education in the already mentioned specialty "Food Production Technology", which is often taught at trade institutes. The diploma will indicate the profession of "cook-technologist." Simultaneously with the basics of organizing the cooking process, the student will learn the basics of management of catering, merchandising and product examination, which, of course, will not be superfluous in the future. The term for obtaining a bachelor's degree at universities and institutes is 4 years. At the same time, for admission, the applicant will have to have in his hands the positive results of passing the exam, where in addition to the main exams (mathematics in this case is a specialized subject) there will have to be additional ones - chemistry or physics.
More specifically, where to study as a cook after 11th grade, the following can be named as the most famous institutions:
- Moscow State Academy of Food Production;
- Academy of Applied Biotechnology;
- State Institute of Food Industry.
Courses
What if there is no time to get a full education, and the soul pulls to stand behind the stove, closer to the oven, mix, beat and add ingredients? Where can I study? Cooks (pastry chefs in the institutions that will be discussed later, will also be prepared very well), process workers and culinary specialists leave not only the doors of universities, academies and schools, but also at the end of short-term courses, where they are served in intensive, capacious form fundamentals of food technology. The average duration of the course is only 2-3 months! Typically, the program includes a theoretical base on the preparation and preparation of dishes, processing technology, nutrition. The practical part includes classes under the supervision of an experienced teacher.
Master classes
In what places can you still understand what the profession of a cook is? "Where to study?" - a question that is not a problem for someone who is really hungry for new knowledge. So, today the world of culinary is actively popularized, and its fundamentals are taught to everyone at special workshops, where the best chefs share secrets, subtleties and nuances with the audience. For example, in the capital, such courses are organized by Academia Del Gusto, where even a beginner can learn how to cook delicious Italian dishes. The price of one lesson is 5000 rubles.
Training abroad
If you have the required amount of money and a good command of a foreign language, you can go on an internship abroad. However, it should be borne in mind that comprehension of culinary skills in Europe or the United States will be quite expensive, because cooking there is considered a rather honorable affair and equates to art. So, for example, in the world famous culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, the cost of a full program course is ... 1 000 000 rubles! Obviously, a diploma obtained here or at any other foreign culinary school will not be an example more valuable than that obtained at any domestic educational institution.
On-site training
In fact, you can become a cook without getting any special education. To do this, it is enough to regularly check the news of restaurant sites: organizations often announce recruitment with the condition of training directly at the workplace. Even the fact that you will have to start from a rather low position as an assistant cook is not a problem, because no one has yet canceled career growth. The main thing would be a desire!