Earn a Culinary Arts Degree Online
If you have a passion for food and want to make a career out of it, you might consider a culinary arts degree. While you can't become the next Bobby Flay from your home computer, you can certainly gain valuable experience in other culinary arts careers, such as restaurant management and hospitality.
Culinary arts management is about the business of food. Business topics relevant to hospitality and restaurant industries are integral parts of a culinary arts management program and easily adapt to the online education platform.
And, in some instances, students with prior culinary lab experience-typically with an associate degree-can now complete their bachelor's degree online. There are some programs with online cooking instruction-how to keep your soufflés from sagging and the like-but these are usually geared to home cooks rather than gourmet chefs.
If you're hoping to become a professional chef, check out online programs that give you hands-on demonstrations, because you can't learn how to make pastries while you're in your pajamas.
Read more about popular professions in the culinary arts.
Basic Requirements for a Culinary Arts Degree
Since the culinary arts industry typically values experience over education, and historically a high school dropout dishwasher is able to work his way up to cook, some certifications may only require a GED. However, to achieve your associate and bachelor's degrees, you will definitely need a high school diploma or GED. Some programs may have minimum GPA and test scores.
Check out highly respected culinary arts degree programs and find out what they require.
How Long Will You Be in Culinary Arts School?
Most online programs don't offer a full degree program, so you might be limited to just certifications and an associate degree. Some programs will offer a bachelor's degree. An associate degree should take you roughly two to three years to complete, depending on your full time status, and a bachelor's should take around four years. Certifications will vary with each program.
Find out what types of degrees can you earn.
Must-Have Traits of Culinary Arts Professionals
A culinary art professional, be it an executive chef or manager, must love working with people. Besides a love for food, this is one of the most important traits you must have to succeed in the culinary arts. To have a successful business, you must also manage time and other people well. During your program, you will learn about nutrition and sanitation, so an interest-or at least an aptitude-in these will help you make all kinds of progress. Having some business savvy will also be beneficial.
Learn about typical coursework in a culinary arts degree program.