You have your culinary degree or certificate in hand, and you’re ready to take your skills back to school. Or maybe you are loving the idea of getting a culinary degree so you can cook for kids. You're determined to break the school lunch lady stereotype! The school cafeteria chef job is a big deal: You’re fueling young brains with nutritional lunches—sometimes even breakfasts as well.
What Does It Take To Be A School Chef?
When going after the job of school or institution chef, having a culinary certification is not enough. You also need to be proficient with all the food management tools and techniques of the role, such as planning and purchasing. You are in charge of developing the school menu, modifying the recipes to fit that state’s nutritional guidelines, and preparing the food en masse.
What Does The Job Entail?
A school chef should be aware of inventory control procedures. Lots of mouths to feed means making certain there is enough to go around. You should also know how and where to purchase the food items as well as how to safely store them—giving students food poisoning is generally frowned upon. The chef in charge of a school cafeteria should also be proficient in the practice, methods, and procedures of food preparations in large volumes. You’ll need to be aware of food values and nutrition as well as sanitation and safety precautions.
There are physical demands: standing for long periods of time, walking, and constant use of hands. There is also some heavy lifting involved as well as moderate to loud cafeteria noise!
Get To Cooking
If a degree in culinary arts is something you’re interested in pursuing, then fill out the free application, and a representative from a culinary school near you will be in touch to discuss your career goals.
