# Attending more than one culinary school?



## raelah (Jul 25, 2016)

I'll be graduating shortly and was wondering what you thought about attending another culinary school to further your career? Is it a wise move? Or would it be better off to be getting out there and working under different chefs? I've now met a few people who have attended two different culinary schools and it tends to help them get a job easier than those who only went to one school.

What do you think?

Thanks for the input!


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

I would say absolutely not one is enough. With this field your best "next move" would be to get into a restaurant. If I were interviewing someone I would wonder why they felt the need to attend a second school.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Your ultimate goal is to get a great job, right?

Then I think you need to talk to employers, not culinary graduates, it's the employers who are offering the gigs, right?

Every employer I've ever met (confession here, I are one too...) is more concerned with practical work experience than the amount or pedigree of schooling.  Basically we (employers) are looking for two things:  Speed, and ability to work with others. After that, the ability to follow orders (last thing we want to hear is "But we learned a different way at school, so I'm not doing it your way...") Then cleanliness, punctuality, and not forgetting the ability to leave your phone alone for several hours at a stretch.

Hope this helps....


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## kaiquekuisine (Apr 11, 2013)

Why???

What if you don´t even learn anything new?

My first chef ever attended 2 culinary schools. One in my country and she attended LCB. She said everything she was taught in one school she learned at the other. 

Also having 2 schools isn´t going to be so helpful if you can´t take direction, you don´t have speed and a skillset, things that you get through work and on the job experiences. 

I didn´t go to culinary school, i was just willing to work the ladder, and work my way up. Yet the amount of experience i have and my skillset speak for themselves. 

Today i work in a kitchen where only one person went to culinary school... the restaurants owner/chef. 

The line cooks didn´t go to school. When we get an intern or a stage (attending culinary school) we struggle to have them do the simplest jobs in the shortest amounts of time. Most don´t even attempt to jump on the line. Simply because they don´t have that work experience to keep up. A piece of paper can help you get your foot through the door, put it isn´t that piece of paper that´s going to help you keep your job. 

School is great, but experience is better. 

Having both is awesome. 

If i had gone to school, i probably wouldn´t have to had gone through such a hassle working the ladder, probably would have learned classic techniques, and the correct way of doing many things. Again, less of a hassle, but i don´t regret doing what i did in this industry. 

I would say, now that you are already finishing up culinary school take the time to work a bit, learn from other chefs, network, and get some experience. 2 schools isn´t going to give you all the culinary knowledge in the world. In fact a chef learns everyday, until his last day. 

Now it´s time for you to have some fun, and maybe struggle, go get a job and learn in a different enviroment, in a different type of institute, the back of the house!!

Those are my 2 cents... 

obs. I didn´t go to culinary school, but i did go to tradeschool (weaker form of teaching then most culinary schools).

I learned the basics in a short period of time at trade school, learned a lot on the job, a lot through books, and a lot staging. 

Going to trade school, just helped getting my foot through some doors, and getting some opportunities to start working in a kitchen (not always cooking in one though). Thus i had to work my way up.


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## chefwriter (Oct 31, 2012)

I agree with the others. Play time is over. Time to get to work. 

As a culinary school graduate, I can tell you from experience that school can show you a great overview of the culinary world. 

But you don't get experience in school. 

Go find a job in the best kitchen you can and keep learning.


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