Culinary School Tips Archives | Culinary Lab Blog Category

What Is a Personal Chef?

March 22, 2021

Becoming a personal chef involves elevating yourself after achieving the status of chef and proving that you are not only a talented cook, but also a passionate one with drive. Personal chefs have an air of prestige as they typically cook for high-net worth clients, have high-tech kitchen facilities, and spend their days channeling their creativity into meals that will satisfy their clients’ dietary preferences.

Getting to the stage of personal chef takes time, training, and determination to become one of the best your field. For those that are interested in pursuing this amazing career, this guide will help give you an idea of how to prepare yourself and what you’ll need to do to get on the right track.

How to Become a Pastry Chef

March 19, 2021

If you enjoy spending your time crafting delicious desserts and find yourself expressing your creativity through kitchen creations, then a career as a pastry chef may be the right career for you! But, where to begin? Starting a career as a pastry chef isn’t as easy as it may seem – aside from an

Want to Become a Chef? Here’s What It Will Cost

March 18, 2021

Do you love food and dining out? Do you feel you would excel in a hospitality environment where you can provide patrons delicious dinners or inspired brunches? If you’re looking for a new career and answered yes to the previous questions, you’ve likely considered becoming a chef.

What’s the Difference Between a Chef and a Cook?

February 26, 2021

To simply answer this question, a chef is an individual who is trained to understand flavors, cooking techniques, create recipes from scratch with fresh ingredients, and have a high level of responsibility within a kitchen. A cook is an individual who follows established recipes to prepare food.

While the definition of each role covers the basics, there is a deeper story behind the differences. There is a wide array of differences between a chef and a cook, and we’re taking the time to explain those differences in this article.

6 Things You’ll Learn in Culinary School

October 20, 2019

things youll learn in culinary school CulinaryLab School min

Culinary school is not only useful for the aspiring culinary professional. The lessons you learn will also help make you a better cook at home. These six things I learned from the professional chefs at The CulinaryLab Cooking School in Tustin, California, are among the top lessons I always use in my everyday cooking at home, as well as in a professional kitchen.

Typical Kitchen Hierarchy of a Professional Hotel Restaurant

September 24, 2019

Restaurant kitchen hierarchy CulinaryLab School

As an aspiring chef, I wanted to know how the staff is organized. To get a better understanding of their hierarchy or “kitchen brigade” , I interviewed Executive Chef Andrew Litherland. Here’s his general overview of his staff, depicting the hierarchy of a large professional kitchen, starting from the bottom.

Is culinary school right for you? Pros and Cons of Being a Chef

September 18, 2019

Pros and Cons of Being a Chef CulinaryLab School

Looking to break into the food industry and wondering if culinary school is the ticket in? It all depends on the individual, say the chefs we spoke to.Culinary school can be a great way for some to launch a career in the food industry, but there are far too many factors making it difficult to know for sure if culinary school is a right fit for you.Students with no professional experience might find it necessary to achieve basic skills before starting their journey into a fast-paced kitchen environment.For others, suffering through what can be a brutal, trial-by-fire restaurant atmosphere with no previous culinary training is still the right — and cheaper — way to go.Either way, the decision to attend culinary school should be a personal choice that benefits you, and not be based on impressing a hiring manager or chef.

Going For a Culinary Apprenticeship? What Chefs Look For in a New Hire

September 18, 2019

What Chefs Look For in a New Hire CulinaryLab School min

So your chopping skills are first rate and your braised beef is to die for. Does this make you a prime target for a job in a professional kitchen? Not really.According to chefs we spoke to about what they want in a new hire, the qualities they look for have little do with cooking.They assume you know how to handle a knife, and they can teach you how to cook their way. What they really want is not unlike what most hiring managers want: A hard worker with a good attitude.We’ve peeled away five attributes that chefs look for with their candidates.

How Many Hours Does A Chef Work?

August 15, 2019

When you’re starting out as a cook or a culinary student, one of the first things you may want to know is what sort of hours will be expected of you when you begin working in a professional kitchen. How many hours does a cook work? How about a chef? What about an executive chef?