Train to Become a Vermont Culinary Wizard

Socked in the middle of New England, Vermont is an oasis for tourists almost every season of the year, including snowy winter when the ski resorts bustle. A thriving tourist industry is always a strong indication of an equally healthy food services industry. People on vacation or a weekend away crave good inventive food.

Given its size Vermont offers a fair number of culinary arts, pastry arts and hospitality and restaurant management programs. Quality matters over quantity and these few schools pack quality programs. Still there is a choice to make. The New England Culinary Institute is one of the more prestigious specialty schools and turns out remarkably qualified chefs, pastry chefs and restaurant pros multiple times each year.

But much of your career is finally determined by your ambition and motivation and passion for the field. Unless you hit it big as a celeb chef, you’re not likely to earn a million dollar salary, so passion is key. Other types of food service industry degrees you might choose include hospitality management or food and nutrition studies.

Requirement: Education in Local Vermont Food Scene

Certainly a required component in your culinary academics must be a thorough exploration of the local food scene. Larger population concentrations in Brattleboro, Montpelier, and Burlington provide culinary hot spots where you can’t help but stumble on inventive, innovative and creative chefs and restaurants.

Plunder the most well-reviewed restaurants—upscale and downscale, learn what seasonal ingredients flavor top menus, dissect inventive dishes, learn about the most talked up chefs, dive into the rich Vermont seasons and the traditional foods—maple syrup, apples, cider, and aged cheddar cheese to name a few native ingredients. Vermont chefs focus their best efforts on locally grown and produced, farm-fresh, seasonal and organic.

Add regional food festivals to your academic calendar. These rich concentrations of local culture also pack loads of entertainment, as well as chef cook-offs, recipe competitions, wine tastings, and samples of some of the “best of” restaurants. Regional festivals to explore:

• Green Mountain Chew Chew Festival, Burlington
• Taste of the Deerfield Valley, Mount Snow
• Vermont Maple Festival, St. Albans

Getting a Job as Chef or Hospitality Pro in Vermont

Landing a chef’s job or restaurant management job in Vermont or beyond is up to you as well as your school. You should have career guidance and job placement provided, but you bring your own passion and motivation. In many areas food service industry jobs are very competitive and if you think you’re going to start at the top, think again. Many of the best chefs at work today began their careers as dishwashers and line cooks, minimum wage earnings. Salaries for chefs in Vermont vary based on location, education, professional experience and even your reputation as you move on in your career. Average salary range for a sous chef in Vermont is between $25,000 and $30,000.*

List of Vermont Cooking Schools

New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier offers a world-class school for hospitality and culinary students from all areas of life. Instructors are pros, you work in student restaurants and school-owned resort hotel, get paired to top-notch internships nationally and internationally and graduate with one of the best resumes in the business. Study programs include: Bachelors Culinary Arts, Bachelors Hospitality and Restaurant Management, Associates Culinary Arts, Associates Baking and Pastry, Associates Hospitality and Restaurant Management, Certificate Culinary Arts, Certificate Baking, Certificate Pastry, and ONLINE Bachelors Hospitality and Restaurant Management.

Vermont State Colleges, Community and Technical Colleges Offering Culinary, Pastry, Restaurant Management, and/or Hospitality Degrees

Champlain College – Burlington
Johnson State College – Johnson
University of Vermont – Burlington

*source, Indeed.com