Jobs in the culinary trades in Virginia will grow by almost 50,000 in the next decade. Enroll now for baking and cooking careers in the Old Dominion State.

By Gabby Hyman
RWM Columnist
December 07, 2006

There are more than 12,000 eating and drinking establishments in Virginia--and that's not counting food service in fine hotels, cruise ships, and resorts. Business is thriving: According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), culinary employment in Virginia accounts for more than eight percent of all jobs, with nearly 50,000 new jobs predicted between today and 2016. If the culinary vocations appeal to you, the wealth of projected openings make this a great time to attend a cooking and baking trade school in Virginia.

The NRA projects 1.9 million new restaurant jobs across the country over the next decade. More than 80 percent of today's salaried restaurant employers began as hourly workers in the culinary vocations, and many of them advanced after getting an accelerated culinary trade school education. In Virginia, you'll find diploma and associate's degree programs in Culinary Arts that can launch your career in two years or less.

Culinary Vocational Training in Virginia
Culinary trade schools in the state offer technical and artistic training in the baking, cooking, catering, and hospitality vocations. You'll work in food-production kitchens alongside industry professionals who offer hands-on instruction in baking principles, culinary science, table and beverage service, wine expertise, and workstation preparation.

You'll get technical instruction in menu planning, food and ingredients buying, kitchen management, nutrition, meat-cutting, patisserie, soups and sauces, seafood handling and preparation, sanitation, buffet and catering techniques, and customer service. Pastry arts courses cover refined technical skills in the use of chocolate and sugar, as well as in dessert presentation and decoration of cakes, pies, dessert specialties, and breads.

In progressive vocational training programs, students move on to learning buffet and cold preparations for use in catering, hotel, resort, and restaurant settings. Garde Manger classes teach technical carving skills, meat smoking and curing procedures, terrine and pate technique.

Whipping Up a Great Career
Many culinary programs include an externship experience that puts you directly into the workplace while you study. If you cannot afford culinary trade school on your own, financial aid officers can help you discover a wide range of support options, from student loans and grants to comprehensive financial planning, which will help you budget your technical training program from day one.

Source

• The National Restaurant Association

About the Author
Gabby Hyman has created online strategies and written content for Fortune 500 companies including eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Microsoft Encarta, Avaya, and Nissan UK.