Holy Crabcakes, Batman! Earn Your Chef’s Whites in Maryland
Maryland traditionally is the land of crabs and crabcakes, but thankfully many modern chefs have taken regional cuisine to a level above that nostalgically sought out by crab-seeking tourists. Still in popular waterside spots the annual seafood fests take top billing. For example, the annual Annapolis Rotary Crab Feast is a treasured tradition AND a huge tourist draw especially since garnering advertisement from leading newspapers and television.
Surveying the Culinary Scene
Opt to attend culinary arts school in Maryland and this is your playground. Academics aside regular forays into the area culinary culture are almost a requirement. You’ll discover that many of the schools listed below are not far flung from each other and accessible to many other spots along the Mid-Atlantic seaboard, including DC, Wilmington, Philly, Norfolk, and even Richmond.
Choose from four-year university programs in Hospitality Management or Food and Beverage Management, community colleges with solid two-year degrees in culinary and pastry arts and technical colleges that specialize in fast-track diploma programs.
Getting a Chef’s Job in Maryland
Bethesda, Rockville, Gaithersburg—these are all suburbs of DC. Here are clusters of very good job opportunities for chefs and restaurant professionals. But this is true of most of the larger or more popular cities, including Baltimore and its suburbs. Make sure the cooking school you choose to attend is amply prepared to help you get a good job. Look for a school with the following benefits:
Also, you can gain a toehold in the local job market when you join a professional organization nearby:
- Central Maryland Chefs and Cooks Association
- Restaurant Association of Maryland
Groups like these are comprised of large numbers of closely related industry professionals joined together in likeminded professional fellowship. Many use their memberships to network, collaborate and keep abreast of the latest industry trends. You might gain access to valuable job boards, access to educational events and annual conferences.
Salaries for chefs in Maryland differ greatly based on a wide spectrum of factors, including:
- Your level of education and specialization
- Years of professional experience
- Type of establishment in which you work
- Area of the state
Chefs that work in major metro areas generally earn more. At the same time the annual salary for an Executive Chef in Baltimore is so much different from the annual salary for a line cook in a restaurant in Gaithersburg that the two cannot even be compared. Salary for an experienced sous chef with management duties averages $30,000.
Search Maryland Cooking Schools
Baltimore International College – Baltimore delivers world-class culinary arts, catering and hotel management programs from basic Associates degrees to Masters level management. Degrees include: Associates Culinary Arts, Bachelors Hospitality Management, Bachelors Hospitality Management/Marketing, and Master of Science in Hospitality Management. Honors students have the opportunity to engage in an exciting externship in Ireland.
L ‘Academie de Cuisine – Gaithersburg is the only truly specialized culinary arts school in Maryland. Study tracks are designed for serious amateurs as well as ambitious student chefs and professional cooks looking to turn up the heat on their careers. Choose from professional programs in Culinary Arts or Pastry Arts.
Maryland State Colleges, Community and Technical Colleges Offering Culinary, Restaurant Management, and/or Hospitality Degrees
Allegany College of Maryland – Cumberland
Anne Arundel Community College – Arnold
Baltimore City Community College – Baltimore
Columbia Union College - Takoma Park
Howard Community College – Columbia
Montgomery College – Rockville
Morgan State University - Baltimore
University of Maryland - College Park-Princess Anne
Wor-Wic Community College – Salisbury