Who needs culinary school when you have Chipotle and IHOP?

[dealmaker]

Who needs culinary school when you have Chipotle and IHOP?
A growing number of successful chefs at high-end restaurants are forgoing fancy foodie degrees from culinary schools… and instead cutting their teeth -- and their vegetables -- in the kitchens of chain restaurants like IHOP and Applebee’s.

Traditional culinary school just doesn’t cut it anymore...
And, according to areportfromThe New York Times, attendance at prestigious culinary institutes is declining: 800 aspiring chefs were enrolled at the New England Culinary Institute in 1999; that number had fallen to 300 in 2017.

Meanwhile, a growing number of successful chefs credit their success with experiences at restaurants like Olive Garden, California Pizza Kitchen, Applebee’s, IHOP, and Wendy’s.

So, what led to this shift?
For one thing, there’s the earnings issue: Culinary schools cost money, while chain restaurants provide aspiring chefs with income.

But, beyond that, chain restaurants also offer a number of benefits to early-career chefs:

• Training is often more formal
• Operations are often more efficient
• Schedules are often more predictable
• Corporate policies discourage abuse and harassment
• Benefits are usually better

So, if you’re really serious about that Michelin star... ditch that fake French accent and hop on over to IHOP.

 

[Banjo]

Taco Bell will try paying some managers $100,000 a year — but In-N-Out Burger already pays managers $160,000
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/t...nagers-160000-2020-01-09?mod=newsviewer_click

 

[mlawson71]

And how good are those chefs at their jobs?

 

[speedo]

They don't get paid to create culinary excellence, they get paid to manage a bustling retail business involving formulaic product. For someone looking for a well paying secure job, it's all good but for a creative chef, it has to be stifling.

 

[elderado]

Every restaurant chain has a test kitchen concept. They try out new stuff and see what sells.

Otherwise, the "culinary arts chefs" can easily wind up on Restaurant Impossible.

Which is why my former next door neighbor, who is a bigwig in the restaurant industry, told me he never eats at the mom and pop places.

 

[SunTrader]

The CIA is still packing them in, but the industry otherwise probably got over-saturated.

As for tuition, all degrees have risen substantially if no one else has noticed.

Olive Garden yea right lol.

 

[speedo]

The CIA is still packing them in, but the industry otherwise probably got over-saturated.

As for tuition, all degrees have risen substantially if no one else has noticed.

Olive Garden yea right lol.

Yep, any culinary school is pricey.

 

[SunTrader]

Yep, any culinary school is pricey.

Well the CIA is the Harvard of Culinary Schools so yes it is top dollar. Then again the best of the best can expect to make big bucks

 

[Pekelo]

Yep, any culinary school is pricey.

So is plumbing school. And electrical school. Not to mention carpentry. You get my drift.

OP is stupid. There is no comparison, just like you said in post #4.

 

[mlawson71]

Frankly, the most important thing for a chef is to be competent - how they became competent is irrelevant.