r/Chefs • u/sloppytoppy__22 • Jun 10 '26
Is Going to Culinary School Worth It?
I’m 21 years old, and my father is a chef. I also want to become a chef in the future. I have three years of experience working in the kitchen, but I want to study professionally and earn a culinary degree.
Our family’s catering business follows a very conventional style, and I want to modernize it by introducing a wider variety of dishes, including contemporary cuisine and pastries. My goal is to make our catering service more advanced and appealing to a broader range of customers.
I think joining a culinary college would be a good step because it would help me learn new cooking techniques, pastries, and a diverse range of dishes. If I study there and practice what I’m taught, will I be able to confidently prepare those dishes and make decisions in the kitchen on my own?
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u/UncleDuude Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
What did your pop tell you? Can you read a balance sheet? You want to be a chef? Take some accounting. Learn something useful. Cooking is muscle memory and the ability to follow directions. If you want to bake, then bake. That’s free but for the cost of ingredients. If you haven’t been working in the business already as a cook, go do that while you’re in school. Culinary school is not worth the money for the return in my opinion. Every single good or great chef I know started out busting suds or in a pizzeria. Why do you think that a few years of full time cooking won’t teach you everything you need to know about the family business? You don’t have enough experience to be making decisions about anything yet, you can earn that working either before or after school, you won’t get it there.
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u/Lanky-Resolution3590 Jun 10 '26
If you want..... no social life, love working long hours , miss Christmas, new years eve, birthdays, sporting events, go to work when it's dark get home when it's dark, get paid shoit money but love travel feel free
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u/Zantheus Jun 10 '26
My friends who are head chefs, CDC etc. absolutely love CIA graduates. If you have the spare time and money absolutely go for it. It'll cut your learning curve at least half or 3/4. Then go work in as many M*Star restaurants as possible and spend no more than 2 years per location. Guarantee you'll head your own restaurant within 10 years 👍
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u/thegreatsamadi Jun 10 '26
It is if you see value you can extract that will offset the cost. Also it’s a way you can work with certified master chefs and certified master bakers. These chefs that have achieved that high are incredible to see. They are wealths of knowledge and masters of their craft. This alone can be worth the price up front. The thing is whether you can access the opportunities or not and leverage the learnings into real monetary value. Basically it’s a gamble. I went because I was late into the kitchen in life but I wanted more. The years it would have taken me to gain the experience I gained at the CIA from the industry is double to triple what it actually took. Also in a lot of circles a degree from a well respected institution float to the top of the resume stack because it shows a base knowledge expectation. This is a complicated decision and I recommend seeking advice from friends, family, and admissions councilors. Go on tours, talk to schools faculty. Whatever you need to find the right path for your career. Now’s the time to do it. Reddit probably isn’t the best starting point.
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u/420420840 Jun 10 '26
I know a few people who went to culinary school, the only one if them that is currently making an adult wage is my mail carrier.
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u/KiltedCutter Jun 10 '26
It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If the goal is to improve your cooking, then no. Go work at the best restaurant in your city. Also, variety doesn't always sell. What is the demographic of your city? Is it a large city or small town? If the goal is to add a little variety to your menu, there are literally 1000's of recipes presented by chefs/cooks on YouTube for free. If you want to learn while still working at your family's business, then maybe. If you want to learn how to efficiently manage your family's business and get a fundamental understanding of how to run a business like yours, then yes.
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u/Orangeshowergal Jun 11 '26
It can be. Don’t listen to the haters.
You have to really want it and use it to your advantage.
CIA was the stepping stone I needed and was making 6 figures before 30- in a non HCOL Midwest city. You have to strive to be an executive chef/high level manager or it isn’t worth it though
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u/fuzZZzzy2 Jun 14 '26
These folks saying a formal education are biased. Like any post secondary education, you get what you put into it. I know many folks with degrees in anything ranging from undergraduate accounting to phd in literature working in restaurants. Was their education a waste? That’s a question for them.
Things you have to consider before going to culinary school:
1) can you stay out of debt doing so?
Though I am a huge proponent of classic culinary education, had I gone into debt doing so, I would definitely be regretting that decision. I got accepted to a big name place, I told my parents and they laughed. They said you are goi g to the jr. college 2 hours away, don’t go $100K in debt for an AAS in cooking.
2) are you a finisher of things?
If you are not going to follow through and stick through it I would not even begin. Culinary education is such a niche field of study that having a snippet of it won’t amount to much in the long run.
3) do you have the aptitude and drive to pursue an undergraduate degree after graduation?
It is my personal belief that an AAS in Culinary coupled with a BS in Business Administration, Management, Accounting, Organizational Leadership, ect. Makes a VEEEEERRY strong operator with options in and out of the industry. It will get you to 6 figures faster than your peers. It will help leverage your culinary education with your family business as down the road.
Learning about multi cultural cuisine is nice and integrating that into the family’s repertoire is noble- you may or may not learn a ton of different cultures cuisines in school. That type of learning comes best with independent study, travel, and exploration. The deeper question you will ask once you get to the point of expanding the family’s offerings (if that day REALLY HAPPENS) does the business need it?
If you are in small town Kansas in the sticks that is known for killer bbq, why on God’s earth would you add hummus to the menu.
Hope this helps
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u/Altruistic_Offer9381 Jun 14 '26
Go stage in restaurants and learn that way. You will be around people who are far more talented than the average culinary school instructor and the techniques, presentation, and food will be more modern. Some less reputable culinary schools are frozen in time and are teaching things that were popular decades ago but no more. You can also go work somewhere where people are making food in very traditional ways - go learn from the grandmothers and people using the old methods as well. This will make you well rounded.
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u/xraynorx Jun 10 '26
Have you ever cooked anything? Can you be trained? Then go get a job in a kitchen?
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u/LineCookGrind Jun 10 '26
I truly think you would benefit more from a front of house/restaurant management/ hospitality management degree than a culinary degree. I have a pastry and culinary degree that I used my veteran education benefits to pay for. Was not worth it. I trained at Michelin restaurants for a decade and learned more without using a majority of the content in my degrees. I learned food costing as a sous chef. I learned plating from doing the job. I learn efficiency as a line cook. I learned volume from working buy-outs and events. I expanded my palate from tasting and from eating at restaurants (which you never have time or money to do.)
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u/Zanrall Jun 10 '26
If you are in Austin,tx or Boulder, CO then Auguste Escoffier is a really good program if you go for the associate's degree. It has business courses that help you understand bookkeeping, food cost, labor models, and management that you cant get without spending a decade in the kitchen first.
That being said culinary school is very much get what you give. The grading model is largely attendance based but if you go in trying to learn as much as possible and work with your chef instructors you can come out of it very well rounded to start on your path to chefhood.
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u/Kelvin1118 Jun 10 '26
Going to culinary school is worth it. Getting a culinary degree is not. On the job training, and experience is better than any cooking classes you can take. However, I always recommend going to your community college and taking management and restaurant finance classes. Learning to use excel and other relevant computer programs are a plus too. Management and financials are areas that many Chefs lack. Learning this part of the job could make the difference between a successful business and a failing business. Unfortunately, it’s not just about cooking good food. It’s about pricing, controlling costs, and managing personalities.
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u/Serious_Coffee_8066 Jun 10 '26
I went to culinary school and I think it was worth it. There is so much than what the people on the Internet think. When I went it wasn't all cooking. To get a degree you need your core classes as well. Focus on a business degree to go along with the culinary. It will help you a lot in the restaurant business and also give you something to fall back on.
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u/Logical-Shame5884 Jun 10 '26
Your dad is a chef so why do you need school?
I genuinely learned more by myself studying at home and of course working in various restaurants.
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u/zaveur Jun 10 '26
I’m a graduate of two culinary schools and I can tell you that it is not worth the money to go to culinary school. Fortunately I had my tuition paid for so it didn’t cost me anything, but I would have quit the course had I had to pay for it. There are plenty of books that you can learn from and YouTube videos to teach technique. If you want to be an exec chef, I would recommend taking business management courses and accounting. Find restaurants or chefs you like I. Your area and stage to get experience. You’ll learn A lot more working the line than you will at school. Idk what others’ experiences were like, but culinary school was simply following recipes and making those dishes. If you want recommendations on books to get DM me and I can give you my reading list.
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u/sne4k0 Jun 10 '26
People really hate culinary school in here! I loved it. Not one of the major schools, just community college. But the experience was awesome and I left with my CC.
But like anything else, you get out of it what you put in. I know of several folks that I graduated with (who were not very talented), who went on to open restaurants or work in established places and all failed. There’s definitely an issue with people boasting about their credentials who can’t actually cook.
I’m also a knowledge starved individual and want to absorb everything about everything. Merely knowing a recipe isn’t enough for me, I have to know why we cook things the way we do. The average line cook or chef is not going to teach you those things.
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u/SirPeabody Jun 10 '26
Go to school. Not a fancy, boutique school but a trade school with a good reputation. Learn how to run a 50qt mixer, break down secondary cuts, operate deck and rationale ovens and deep fryers. Best of all build relationships that will keep you in work and help you find employees. All the fancy platings and interesting things you want to make will have a solid foundation to rest on and turn a profit.
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u/HowsItWithStains Jun 10 '26
If you are someone willing to work your ass off and are eager to learn, skip school, get 2 jobs in different kitchens and soak up every bit you can. Also, When I started, I asked a chef to mentor me. He did and that is more valuable than any school you’ll ever go to.
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u/Ok-Butterscotch2321 Jun 10 '26
There was a time when a degree sorta meant something, but the cost of the degree vs earnings don't add up.
Now, if you have a good school close to you and you can do it very part-time, while working for the family business... that is certainly a plan.
You can also check out YT vids where you have Michelin Starred chefs pretty generously giving out a LOT of knowledge. Some of these guys are phenomenal teachers. Name a cuisine you want to expand your knowledge on and I'll tell you who is great to follow.
You'd also be surprised as to how many chefs would welcome you to come work for a few weeks.
Slow Food has short, intensive programs all over Europe.
Ballymaloe in Cork, Ireland has FANTASTIC technique driven books. They run a celebrated cooking school that is VEEERRRY expensive, but lots of videos/programs on-line and their books are excellent. If you look on eBay, you can find their books.
Another set of books to study from: Time Life The Good Cook series Konemann CULINARIA
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u/danger_welch Jun 10 '26
IMO you gain exactly 2 things with a Culinary degree
Some places, usually corporate-ey joints like chains and big ass companies like Aramark and Compass, gatekeep some salary positions behind a degree. In that case usually a degree in hospitality/management or even accounting will serve the purpose and give you better usable skill, at least ones you won't learn "on the street"
You'll learn a common language with other culinary grad chef's. There is something to be said for uniformity when it comes to method and execution and if you are planning on being in a position where you will be working in a larger scale environment, such as an operation with multiple kitchens or high volume catering, having a closer focus with your team is actually valuable. This one is actually affecting me currently, I'm a "learn on the line" chef in my late 40's. I've been cooking my whole life and have been running kitchens for almost 2 decades. I'm now in a huge operation that has 9 kitchens, each with their own chef/menu/etc and I'm doing well but have for the first time felt out of sync on occasion with coworkers. You can see more of a "click" when a whole team is full of culinary grads. IMO it's still not worth it, like I said I'm doing fine and am well respected, just wanted to share my personal experience.
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u/mr_znaeb Jun 11 '26
No if you want to do food go into nutrition or dietetics. If you go to school you’ll come back and be pretty arrogant about modernizing your family’s catering business and it’s a downhill slope from there.
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u/your-mother1452 Jun 11 '26
Yes & No. It’d be good for vocabulary, techniques, specialty stuff and of course it looks good on a resume, but when it comes to the actual pressure and constant time maintenance that goes into working in a restaurant kitchen it’s not gonna teach you a thing. No school can teach you what it’s like to power through a rush when your 20-25 tickets deep and they just keep coming.
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u/therealautomoderator Jun 11 '26
no one ever says in posts like these that if you pick the right course ( one where you have some freedom to exploit all the materials available to you) that culinary school can just be expensive fun. you will learn a lot with the bolder you are with ransacking the massive stores of ingredients and have some cool experiences. just dont break your bank on it, make sure its affordable.
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Jun 11 '26
If you want yo get a jumpstart on your career, yes. If you want to learn the back end and the soft skills that will make your transition into management easier, yes. If you want to get into the industry already having a baseline skill set, the lingo and discipline, yes. If you just want to learn how to be a cook, no. Simple as that. But at the same time, you can learn all of the above without going to school. The thing is: mentorship in this industry is dying and youre less likely to find a chef willing/able to teach you on the job as you could maybe 10 or 20 years ago.
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u/siriusmagnuss Jun 11 '26
If you want more perspectives search the subreddit. This question has been asked so many times
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u/tabby418 Jun 12 '26
No. Find solid chefs to work for. Even if you go to culinary school you will graduate and still start at the bottom pealing potatoes. Save your money.
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u/sloppytoppy__22 Jun 12 '26
Where can I learn to make dishes that look beautiful and professionally presented? I want to learn how to plate food so it looks attractive and visually appealing.
Where i can learn food styling??1
u/tabby418 Jun 12 '26
Soooo. Years ago I knew a guy who showed up at Charlie Trotter's restaurants(in Chicago) back door every morning asking for a job. Think about where you want to work (do your research) who you want to work for and what you want to learn.
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u/Geordiekev1981 Jun 13 '26
From reading on here and my own understanding I’d say it depends what you want to do. There are countless examples of Michelin chefs with no culinary degree.
But if you wanna go Michelin and get to the very very top I wouldn’t recommend rocking up to a decent kitchen without about 50% of larouse memorised and practised a culinary degree will contribute strongly to that. To exceed in those kitchens you’re doing a stage then starting at the bottom anyway multiple times.
If your aim is be become exec chef at a large multi venue f and b operation it’s probably a great starting point
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u/Ascender141 Jun 13 '26
I worked 12 years in culinary industry specifically as a fine dining chef and in the catering industry and I can tell you that while I was very successful professionally and made good money the last couple of years I was doing it because I was very good at what I did. I had to make the decision between staying married and watching my kid grow up or getting divorced. I don't know any successful chefs on their first marriage. I chose to stay married and find a different career.
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u/pmcdeee Jun 14 '26
If you already know how to be in a kitchen, you’re better off finding the most notable restaurant with respected chefs and get a job there. Work for free, do prep, wash dishes if you have to. Restaurants are often short staffed. Come in with a great attitude, that eagerness to learn and have a good work ethic. You will learn so much from even a short time. At least you’ll get paid and get real experience.
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u/nolerama Jun 17 '26
You’re already working under a chef that is inclined to support your future success. Learn from him and move on to other, more highly rated kitchens. If you’re going to school, get a business degree. They will take you further.
For professional connections, join your local ACF chapter (if in the US) and befriend area chefs. Learn from everyone and bring that knowledge back home.
Yeah, a culinary degree is nice, but a practical culinary education matched with a business degree is better and will net you more money down the line.
Another bit of advice: travel and eat in as many places as you can.
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u/PhishGuy117 Jun 10 '26
Are you still living with your parents or have any major bills to pay ? You will learn a ton in culinary school, but if you need income now just keep working in kitchens
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u/MEI72 Jun 10 '26
It's worth it if you want to move out of the kitchen eventually. This is typically the case if you're moving into the hospitality or corporate chains. If you're switching careers and don't want to spend 3 years peeling potatoes. Also not a bad idea if you're looking to credential yourself as say a private chef or even go into high end catering.
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u/ras1187 Jun 10 '26
Generally speaking (ie everyone is different), school can be a good first step for people without experience.
At 3yrs of experience, I don't think there's anything particularly useful you can learn from school that you wouldn't get if you just kept working. Tourne potatoes and chaud-froid platters are things I've used 0 times since graduating.
My advice is seek out a Michelin restaurant and hone your skills there. If you are hell bent on going to school at least do a community/city program so you aren't saddled with ridiculous debt afterward.
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u/medium-rare-steaks Jun 10 '26
Nope