In-Depth Guide to Hospitality & Culinary Degree Programs

What will you study in a Hospitality & Culinary Degree Program?

The focus of any hospitality and culinary degree student is, essentially, the art of pleasing others. Whether you're studying hospitality administration or management; learning to run hotels, resorts, or other businesses that cater to travelers; or whether you're majoring in general culinary arts or a specialty like pastry arts, learning to design, accurately prepare, and serve food to the dining public, you are doing so with an eye toward creating the most pleasurable experience possible for your guest or customer.

Courses vary widely depending on your chosen specific area of study, but most degree programs probably include several of the following--a survey of banquets and catering, food science, nutrition, safety and sanitation, basic restaurant management, menu planning and purchasing, food service operations, event management, and marketing. Culinary arts majors also delve deeply into food preparation; knife techniques; and how to cook sauces, meats, and pastry dishes, while hospitality administration or management majors focus less on foods and more on the laws, ethics, and economics governing the hospitality industry, and the design and marketing of hotel and resort facilities.

Which characteristics do Hospitality & Culinary majors typically possess?

Working in the hospitality and culinary industry can be very exciting, because of its fast pace, upbeat atmosphere, and great diversity of coworkers and guests. Plus, providing memorable experiences to people can be very rewarding.

Because the industry is about catering to the public, working in the industry requires a very particular set of skills beyond what schools teach you. Of course, excellent communication skills and the ability to get along with a diverse range of people is an absolute must. You need to be a good problem-solver and be ready to think on your feet, because in this fast-moving industry, where you're always in the public eye, guests and fellow workers look to you to solve problems quickly, get things running efficiently, and still make everyone as happy as possible. You need to be able to respond well to stress and exhibit grace under pressure. Also, if you plan to work at all in the culinary world, you simply must have a passion for food--not just eating it, but being creative with tastes and presentation, and you must take enjoyment from pleasing others.

The hospitality and culinary industry is busiest when others are relaxing--in other words, nights, weekends, and holidays. You need to be willing to work during these times, sometimes for many hours in a row. During busy seasons or special events, breaks may be few and far between. This means there are some physical attributes you should have as well, such as plenty of energy, the ability to be on your feet for long stretches of time, agility, and some physical strength in order to lift heavy trays, rearrange tables, prepare large portions of food, or even carry luggage. And you must use good hygiene and sanitation practices.

Which specific careers can Hospitality & Culinary majors pursue?

The restaurant industry alone employs roughly 13 million Americans, comprising 9 percent of the nation's workforce. And the travel and tourism industry is one of the nation's largest employers. Hundreds of jobs are available in the industry, ranging from part-time to full-time, and from those requiring no prior training, such as servers or desk clerks, to those requiring a high degree of schooling from a formal program and on-the-job training. With the benefit of a Hospitality or Culinary degree, the typical graduate could pursue one of the following careers:

• Chef or Cook: These culinary professionals prepare, cook, and plate the meals served to dining patrons. Chefs generally have more responsibilities in professional kitchens, such as formulating recipes, purchasing kitchen food items, and supervising staff. Executive chefs tend to have a bigger hand in running the business, including menu design and event planning.

• Restaurant Manager: Relying on a blend of culinary skills and business acumen, restaurant managers use their training to inspect food and approve menu selections, oversee safety procedures, attend to customers, serve meals, hire and schedule employees, manage inventory, cater or host special events, and handle administrative tasks.

• Hotel or Resort Manager: These professionals perform any number of tasks, including designing the look and feel of their facilities, planning events, addressing guests' needs, hiring and managing staff, and marketing their location to tourists and conventioneers.

• Event Planner: Often self-employed, these people are responsible for the details of large and small events, from the food to the decor, flowers, photography, activities, ceremony details, scheduling and arranging locations, coordinating travel and lodging, and a myriad of administrative and logistical tasks. Caterers may also handle these tasks, as well as planning, preparing, and serving meals.

Which well-known people in the industry have completed Hospitality & Culinary degree programs before becoming successful?

Because the road to professional chef generally requires formal training, most well-known celebrity chefs have completed culinary arts programs. The Food Network's Sandra Lee completed a Le Cordon Bleu program, taking what she learned in food preparation and incorporating her own shortcuts to create her "Semi-Homemade Cooking" creations. Emmy-winning Bobby Flay of "Throwdown" and "The Iron Chef America," among others, studied at The French Culinary Institute, receiving an Outstanding Graduate Award. And Giada De Laurentiis also earned formal Le Cordon Bleu training in Paris, studying both cuisine and pastry, before going on to work at the Ritz Carlton Fine Dining Room and at Wolfgang Puck's Spago, and later forming a Los Angeles catering company.

How much do Hospitality & Culinary majors typically earn in the various fields they can pursue?

Many factors can affect your wages in the hospitality and culinary world. These include whether you are a business owner or employee, where you're located, whether you work in casual or upscale surroundings, who your clientele are, what level of training you've received, and more. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the following mean annual wages in 2008 for the aforementioned careers:

• Chefs and Cooks: $42,410
• Restaurant Manager: $50,320
• Hotel or Resort Manager: Lodging managers--$52,550 plus these professionals are likely to earn yearly bonuses of up to 25 percent of their salaries
• Event Planner: $47,500 for meeting and convention planners

In which part of the country or world do prominent Hospitality & Culinary communities flourish?

The hospitality and culinary world relies not only on high concentrations of people for its business, but tourism and travel as well. Therefore, locales with high populations and plenty of tourist destinations find the greatest hospitality and culinary success. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), California, Texas, and New York top the U.S. charts for restaurant sales. Additionally, the NRA says that the highest growth among dining establishments will occur in western and southern states, with Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida seeing the highest growth by 2018. These states will see the most new restaurants opening because they are the fastest-growing or most economically stable.

Internationally, of course, the world's culinary centers include France, Italy, and the UK, where you can also find world-renowned culinary schools, chefs, and restaurants. They are also widely known for their dining options and attractions--huge draws for tourists each year.

What type of "real world" experience could you combine with your Hospitality & Culinary program to supplement what the program teaches you?

Because it's difficult to know from one workplace to another about the specific needs of your clientele or your employer's policies, these issues should be learned on the job. Working in the hospitality and culinary industry as a customer service representative, host, server, bartender, or line cook is a great way to gain experience in working with the public, problem resolution, safety and hygiene practices, and food preparation. You have the opportunity to expand your communications skills, your ability to work with a team, and your physical strength and dexterity in a way that can only complement the formal schooling you receive. In fact, many employers for positions such as manager or chef prefer candidates with on-the-job experience.

What can a Hospitality & Culinary degree give you that on-the-job experience may not be able to?

While real-world experience is tremendously beneficial to you in the hospitality and culinary industry, there's truly no substitute for a formal degree program if you're serious about advancing your career.

While some casual restaurants employ cooks or chefs with no formal schooling, fine dining establishments are likely to require certification from a culinary school. And because this field is extremely competitive, applicants with culinary degrees are generally preferred because they have learned safe, effective knife techniques; how to prepare a wide range of foods; how to practice safe and hygienic preparation and clean-up; and many of the important business tasks that keep dining or hospitality establishments afloat, like purchasing, event planning, management, and marketing.

Plus, with the formal preparation in law, ethics, operations, management, and the economics of tourism that online or campus Hospitality & Culinary degree programs provide, graduates are ready to hit the ground running once they begin work, which employers generally prefer as they look to trim budgets, attract customers, compete for business, and expand to new locations.