Culinary School Must Have Equipment
One of the things we always tell prospective students to look for when choosing a culinary school is the type of technology they have in the training kitchens. That’s because culinary programs that prepare students for real-world situations use the same types of tools that are found in most restaurants and commercial kitchens today. Only by becoming familiar with the modern kitchen can you be prepared for entry-level work after you graduate.
But what exactly does that mean?
Does that mean you should seek out a culinary school that has nitrogen tanks for the newest techniques in molecular gastronomy? Or should you rely on a culinary school that relies on old-school fryers that you have to time in your head?
The truth is somewhere in the middle. While it’s always a good idea to be trained on new innovations like molecular gastronomy or older technologies like a cheesecloth for straining soup, the chances of you needing that information as an entry-level line cook are very small.
Knowing how to work older machinery can be great if you find yourself in a situation in which you need to resort to tried-and-true basics of the kitchen, and knowing new techniques could make you more marketable. It’s best to find a good foundation of balance between the two.
At the most basic level, the kitchen in your culinary school should include:
- Fryer
- Griddle
- Broiler
- Range Top
- Oven
- Steamer
- Kettle
- Skillet
- Braising Pan
- Charbroiler
- Rotisserie
- Food Blender
- Food Cutter
- Hand Mixer
- Food Processor
- Meat Grinder
- Mixer
- Slicer
While you might not be trained on advanced techniques with all of these commercial kitchen appliances, you should at least be familiar with what each one can do and how it is operated.
If you find that your prospective culinary school is missing parts of this list, you may want to take a better look at their internship and externship programs. Many schools rely heavily on this hands-on, real-world portion of the training to familiarize students with how to work in kitchen (and at the pace and setting of the real world).
In many cases, it is the combination of the internship location and the student facility kitchens that create the best possible education.
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