To Be Taken Seriously

Decorating By sweettoothmom Updated 7 Oct 2008 , 5:06pm by sweettoothmom

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sweettoothmom Posted 6 Oct 2008 , 9:30pm
post #1 of 7

.... in the world of confectionary delights do you need the educational background from culinary school?

Does self taught decorator make employers tuck tail and run?

With no schools available to me for thousands of miles, self taught is my only option. Can I obtain a book list from someone who has attened culinary school so that I may read up on the basics?

Is CIA, or ICE or Cordon Bleu the best culinary school?

6 replies
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TooMuchCake Posted 6 Oct 2008 , 9:43pm
post #2 of 7

Speaking strictly from personal experience - and others with different experiences can tell you how it went for them - I have no formal training and had three confection-related jobs. I quit work to spend more time with my family, but now that my son is about to be out on his own, I've already been offered a bakery manager position for a cafe opening in the next town over.

The bakery I worked in would not consider hiring culinary school grads. The reason being that whenever they gave it a try, the fresh grad tried to come in guns a-blazing and reinvent the bakery. No new hire has that right and it rubbed the owner wrong every time until he quit even considering them.

My advice to you would be to hone your own skills as much as you can with the resources you have at hand, keep a portfolio of your work, and let your work speak for itself.

HTH,
Deanna

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sweettoothmom Posted 6 Oct 2008 , 10:17pm
post #3 of 7

Thank you too much cake. I think you make a very good point.

I will try to read read and bake bake. I do appreciate the input.

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indydebi Posted 6 Oct 2008 , 10:51pm
post #4 of 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by TooMuchCake

The reason being that whenever they gave it a try, the fresh grad tried to come in guns a-blazing and reinvent the bakery.



So true ... and it's not just the bakery industry. I've seen it in all industries. College grad kids come in with the "how DID you run this company without me?"

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Mike1394 Posted 7 Oct 2008 , 12:49am
post #5 of 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweettoothmom

.... in the world of confectionary delights do you need the educational background from culinary school?

Does self taught decorator make employers tuck tail and run?

With no schools available to me for thousands of miles, self taught is my only option. Can I obtain a book list from someone who has attened culinary school so that I may read up on the basics?

Is CIA, or ICE or Cordon Bleu the best culinary school?




Your asking two different Qs. Are we talking pasteries, or just cake decorating? LCB sucks CIA is top for culinary school. For pasteries I would either Notter, or the Chi., school of pastry.

That being said it doesn't matter who does the teaching if your not going to apply it on your own time.

For books, I would stay away from the Wayne Gisselen Professional baking. I don't care for it at all. For sauces, and techniques it's good, for actual dough recipes it is very weak.
There is a book called On Baking. It is by the authors of On Cooking. The OC book is a top text book. Today I just briefly scanned the OB book. It is written in the same manner as the OC book. I would have to assume that the OB book is as good as the first.

Mike

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mkolmar Posted 7 Oct 2008 , 3:04am
post #6 of 7

The ones that come in on fire and guns blazing are usually the ones who had their heads up their own rears. These are the ones who sing their own praises while everyone works their butts off picking up their slack. The ones who buckle down and work hard and actually earn their right in the kitchen rather than think it's owed to them simply because they graduated are the ones you want. Can you tell that I've worked with enough of these "But I'm special." people icon_lol.gif

I honestly graduated with honors from culinary school but yet have a ton of more learning to do. School just teaches you the basics. We have a TON of material to cover and only a certain amount of time to do it in. I have people call me CHEF and I almost cringe because I believe I have not earned the title yet. I have many more years in the field before I'll be comfortable with that title.
I'm around lots of Chefs since I'm an active member of the ACF and now serve on my chapters board. I can honestly say that some of the best chefs I know have never been to school but have worked they way up from being the bus boy to executive chef. Now that's inspiring to me.
School is important if you want to go for certifications since they are hard to pass even with the proper schooling. However, schooling is not necessary depending on what you want to do in the field.

Mike's info is spot on. (Of course we both tend to think the same when it comes to culinary schools.) It all depends on what you want to do in the field and the books to get from there. Check out some Chef websites and the ACF (american culianary federation) website. Even the National Restaurant Associations website might help you get an idea for how many options are out there as far as careers. This will help you decide what books, videos and trainings you may want to get.
Also, I'm not sure if there is a place you might be able to intern at but on the job training is great. I see you are 9 months in the frozen tundra so I don't know if that's an option though icon_wink.gif (I can only imagine where you are located right now but it sounds awfully cold!)

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sweettoothmom Posted 7 Oct 2008 , 5:06pm
post #7 of 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

Quote:
Originally Posted by TooMuchCake

The reason being that whenever they gave it a try, the fresh grad tried to come in guns a-blazing and reinvent the bakery.


So true ... and it's not just the bakery industry. I've seen it in all industries. College grad kids come in with the "how DID you run this company without me?"




I am a sponge I like to go in and soak up as much knowledge I can about whatever they make and then if I want to play with thier creations I do it at home on my poor family and friends icon_redface.gif

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