Back of House Comes to the Forefront: New Paths to Culinary Success

by Kate McIntyre

Rachael Ray, the star of three shows on the Food Network, recently parlayed her on-camera popularity to publishing success, winning a Quill consumer's choice award for her cookbook, Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners. The book provides home chefs with easy meals that can be prepared in Ray's trademark thirty minutes. The recipes inside are not meant to replicate the fancy fare you might find in fine restaurants, but instead, aim to offer family-pleasing pork chops and mac-and-cheese variations. While some professional chefs might resent her success, she has also inspired countless people cooking at home to try new dishes.

Famous Chefs and Culinary Entrepreneurs Exploring New Ventures Ray is a prime example of the broadened path of culinary success. No longer are chefs content to toil away unseen in their restaurant kitchens. They are embracing new opportunities afforded to them by a public that increasingly views food as entertainment.

Chefs are becoming famous for their colorful personalities as well as their cuisine. Emeril Lagasse's heavy-handed spice application and catchphrase, "Bam!", have kept his television audience entertained for years. Recently, he tried cutting his teeth on acting with a toothpaste commercial. Wolfgang Puck has expanded his restaurant offerings to include dozens of locations and price points. He also sells a line of canned soups available at local grocery stores. Martha Stewart grew her catering business into a successful television show, a home furnishings empire, and a magazine title. From her humble beginnings as a caterer and cookbook author, she has created a brand around her lifestyle and entertaining philosophies. As chefs' and culinary entrepreneurs' fame grows, their names are turning into highly profitable brand names.

Culinary School: A Necessary Step Toward Success

Whether you want to write cookbooks, run a four-star restaurant, or do your cooking on your own television show, getting a culinary education is an essential starting place. No matter how charismatic you are, if you do not know the difference between braising and broiling, you won't go far.

Culinary schools provide you with food preparation and hospitality training necessary for success in all parts of the industry. Look for accredited, respected schools that offer externship programs that allow you to gain real world experience in restaurants. A high-quality education from a culinary academy is an important foundation, no matter where your spatula and apron may take you.

Sources: "The Quill Book Awards"—MSNBC.com, "Restaurants"—WolfgangPuck.com

About the Author: Kate McIntyre is a writer in Portland, Oregon. She holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Oregon State University.