Help Chefs!!! Please - Culinary Schools

First, I was a GM for a full service restaurant so Iknow how demanding the restaurant/hospitality business is. It's brutal- hours, employees, customers, R&M, P&L etc- but it is also very rewarding.

My dilemma- my step-daughter wants to be a pastry chef. She finisheded HS last year and took the year off. She really likes baking.

I know that is not enough to make a career out of something but she has her mind made up. She wants to attend a Proprietary school that will cost $35k. Ot she can attend the local Community College for $6500.00 and get the same degree with a CC certification and the Community School is accredited by the ACF. The proprietary school has only been opened since 2006 and has not gotten the ACF accreditation yet.

She is insistent on the expensive school, stating it is a 'better' degree- HELP.
It is the same degree- and she may not even like the Culinary Arts once she gets in it. How do I convince her?

BTW- I am female- a tough one at that....she cries about the most silly things. The restaurant biz will eat her up at this point. There is NO crying in the kitchen.

You're smart to be wary of spending before you know how serious she is about the profession. She could always test her interest with the community college program for 1 year. It won't transfer to a top notch program like the CIA or J&W, but it's much less expensive than even one year of "trying it out" at a proprietary school. Also, the value of the "name" program depends entirely on the market where she will be looking for work. Until she gets some experience, she won't see much payback, even with an accredited degree.

Bakers have an easier time than culinarians in most culinary schools. It's a completely different ball game. but they have to be really dedicated to build the technical skills. We just hired a Cordon Bleu graduate from MN. She is at least 2 years away from being really proficient.

If your step-daughter isn't working in a bakery or kitchen now, and loving every minute of it passionately, she isn't ready.

Good luck, and stand your ground.

CIA '05

A course at community college to "test her wings" is the way to go. At 17 or 18 years of age the term "she really likes to bake" doesn't translate into a life's work.

CaitB
LCB - Paris
1988