# Culinary Careers Outside of a Restaurant Kitchen



## slartibartfast (Jun 1, 2015)

I have been thinking about changing my career and I have always loved to cook, and love food in general, so I am considering culinary school.  

I am not necessarily looking to get a job as a chef in a restaurant, though.   I have an MBA in marketing and a management consulting and corporate strategy background, and I wouldn’t mind combining my business background with my culinary school education.  As a result, working in a restaurant isn’t necessarily my top choice for a long term career path.  There are other options that sound more appealing to me, such as a more corporate job at a food company (maybe as a food tester or even a corporate position), culinary consulting company, food testing/recipe creation at a food company, writer, or the Food Network.   Do those types of careers require prior restaurant experience?  What does it take to get a job in those areas?

I live in NYC area so I will only be considering NYC schools.  I think that  primarily means The International Culinary Center (formerly the French Culinary Institute), The Institute of Culinary Education, and Le Cordon Bleu, but I am open to other ideas.   The school with the best career services and that provides the best long term career options is my top choice.  Based on my initial research that seems to be The International Culinary Center, but I would like to hear the thoughts of people who have been thru these programs and/or are professionals in the food industry.

Any thoughts and advice are welcome.


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## nate (Aug 2, 2014)

The NAFEM Organization (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) is working on ways to encourage people just like your self, to work in it's industry.  There is always a need for business minded chefs to help manufactures build and create new products.  I personally have worked for a foodservice equipment manufacture for five years, where i have helped develop new products, demoed the equipment to potential customers and at trade shows.  I help create cook books for our products and support the brand with our sales representatives around the world.  A trade certification can be obtained through NAFEM called Certified Foodservice Professional (CFSP).  This is a great peek into the knowledge of a foodservice consultant.  If you ever have the chance, check out the NRA Show in Chicago.  You will find me there along with plenty of industry professionals that are involved with every aspect of the foodservice world.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

@Slartibartfast

I would check out the different food options at Cornell.


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## slartibartfast (Jun 1, 2015)

Nate - Thanks for the advice.  I had never heard of NAFEM but it sounds like a great idea for what I am looking to do.  I sent you a PM to talk in more detail.

Panini - I appreciate your advice as well and I have considered Cornell's hospitality school.  I actually wanted to go there for undergrad but it was too expensive and my family couldn't get the financial aid so I wound up going to a state school.  I think Cornell may still be too expensive for me considering I am still paying off my school loans from graduate school, but I will look into it more.  If it's a similar price to culinary school like CIA or ICC then it's probably a much better option for what I am looking to do.


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## slartibartfast (Jun 1, 2015)

I also wanted to add a little more clarity as to why I am not looking to work in a restaurant kitchen.  I love to cook and all things being equal I would probably really enjoy working in a kitchen.  However, I am now 43 and have some lingering sports injuries that I have accumulated over the years, particularly my knee and my back.  As a result, I don't think I could handle the physical demands of working in a kitchen full time.  As much as I would like to, I probably wouldn't last a week in that kind of job.  In everyday life I am fine.  Sure it hurts sometimes but it's not a big deal when I can sit down for most of the day, however working in a kitchen is a completely different level of physical demands as far as my understanding goes and to be realistic I doubt I could handle it for the long term.


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