- \n
- You don\u2019t know what to focus on every day.<\/li>\n
- You set goals, but don\u2019t know how to achieve them.<\/li>\n
- You aren\u2019t sure what to do to shift your current career or life path.<\/li>\n
- You have other obligations that keep distracting you from pursuing your own goals.<\/li>\n
- You have no idea how you\u2019ll get from just having a passion for cooking to earning the title of \u201cChef.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
![\"Nahika](\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Nahika-Hillery-scaled-e1600704680286.jpg\")
“I really wanted to deserve the title of \u2018Chef.\u2019 That was really important to me.”
\nNahika Hillery, Austin Culinary Arts Graduate, Owner of Kreyol Korner Caribbean Cuisine<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\nEscoffier culinary school<\/a> graduate and food truck owner Nahika Hillery faced some of these very challenges early in her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching the other chefs work, there were tricks and good practices they had that I didn\u2019t. This put in perspective how much I needed that training. And I wanted to deserve the title \u2018Chef\u2019. That was really important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trying to figure things out on her own, Nahika found herself spinning her wheels. Her only training was from working at home with her mother growing up, plus a handful of kitchen jobs. There was no plan, and nobody to hold her accountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed more training in restaurant management, efficiency in the kitchen, cutting skills, and all other proficiencies that come with working in a professional kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Male](\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Male-chef-instructor-showing-female-culinary-student-how-to-chop-vegetable-1024x683.jpg\")
\nYou Need Clarity, Structure, and Routine<\/h2>\n
Fortunately, you don\u2019t have to figure everything out on your own, and you don\u2019t have to leave your life up to fate. At Escoffier, our Chef Instructors<\/a> have decades of real-world experience as Executive Chefs and restaurant owners. They\u2019ve developed recipes and menus. They\u2019ve hired and trained staff.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Shane](\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/shane.png\")
“You have mentors in a restaurant setting, but you won\u2019t get the variety. At Escoffier, you\u2019re exposed to 10+ executive chefs, and you\u2019re surrounded by them every day. There\u2019s a wealth of mentorship at your fingertips.”
\nShane Witters Hicks, Escoffier Boulder Graduate & Private Chef\/Educator, The Soulful Spread<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\nAll of this experience is distilled down into a curriculum that provides clarity and structure. You move from where you are now to where you want to be step-by-step. In around 60 weeks, you get vast exposure to world cuisines, kitchen management, menu development<\/a>, and more. And, of course, you\u2019ll get to practice with your culinary toolkit.<\/p>\n
When you come out the other side as a graduate, you\u2019re already on a trajectory towards your dream career.<\/p>\n
![\"online](\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/online-culinary-toolkit.jpg\")
\nObviously, structured knowledge alone isn\u2019t enough. All of the cooking and restaurant knowledge in the world is in books, videos, and even online. The problem, then, isn\u2019t access to knowledge…it\u2019s knowing how to apply knowledge. And that\u2019s where discipline, practice, and mentorship come in.<\/p>\n
You Need Discipline and Accountability To Your Dream<\/h2>\n
A mentor isn\u2019t your savior\u2014you\u2019re the hero of your own life journey. Nor is a mentor necessarily your friend, although they can be.<\/p>\n
Your mentor\u2019s main job is to help you set a big and audacious goal for your life<\/a>, and to hold you accountable to making it happen<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\n“The chef instructors [at Escoffier] truly care, and they will go out of their way, out of their personal lives, to ensure that students have a quality experience. What more can you ask for from your education?”
\nShane Witters Hicks, Escoffier Boulder Graduate & Private Chef\/Educator, The Soulful Spread<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\nA professional kitchen can be an intimidating place. Starting and running your own restaurant or bakery requires a big appetite for risk. Without someone who asks you the hard questions, or calls you out when you deliver less than your best effort, you\u2019re setting yourself up for failure.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why you need a mentor who will often believe more in you than you believe in yourself. But you<\/em> have to take the first step.<\/p>\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/a-chef-instructor-teaching-a-culinary-student-over-a-hot-stove-1024x683.jpg\")
\n\u201cYou have to be intentional about wanting to gain the skills that the instructors are teaching you,\u201d explains Hillery. \u201cRegardless of how tired I was, I was intentional in every class that I was in. I told myself that if I’m here and not gaining the most out of this experience, then what am I doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cWhen I walk into any situation now, I at least have the foundations of performing the \u2018kitchen dance\u2019 and can blend in easily with any team.\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n
Now It\u2019s Your Turn: Find Your Chef Mentor<\/h2>\n
Will you continue drifting through life, thinking about your dreams, but never taking a chance? Or will you take back control of your life and create one full of direction and meaning?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to get clarity and purpose back in your life. It\u2019s time to live your values and be the change you want to see in the world.<\/p>\n
Get our plan<\/a> for helping you find your Chef Mentor, and become the hero of your own life journey in the culinary world.<\/p>\n
Here are a few more articles on the value of a culinary education:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Why Earn an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts with Escoffier<\/a><\/li>\n
- Why Older Students Should Consider Culinary School<\/a><\/li>\n
- What\u2019s a Culinary School Success Coach and Why Do You Need One?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This article was originally published on May 21, 2018, and has been updated.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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- Why Earn an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts with Escoffier<\/a><\/li>\n