What criteria should you consider when selecting a Culinary School ?
There are two mainstream training options open to student chefs. The first is a specialised culinary school or college; and the second is a three-year apprenticeship with a chef in a hotel or restaurant combined with an annual six-week training period in a culinary school.
Because apprenticeships with chefs are so limited in this country, most of our trainee chefs are trained through culinary schools. Culinary schools require huge investment to set up and maintain and for that reason, they are expensive to attend. Before committing yourself to a school, here are some suggested pointers for carefully evaluating your options.
- Credentials - Check and validate the credibility and credentials of the training provider. Does it have accreditation through a quality assurance body such as City and Guilds? If yes, check that the registration numbers correspond. Don't take anything at face value. Like any industry, the culinary training industry has its share of fly-by-nights.
- Reputation - What is the reputation of the school? Speak to past graduates and current students and find out what the employment ratio is for graduates and where they have been placed in industry.
- Duration - What's the duration of the programme? A minimum of 18 months is recommended as anything less would not offer a sufficiently comprehensive training course.
- Qualification - The qualification at the end of the course should be a diploma. Find out which awarding body issues the diplomas and whether they are internationally recognised. National Qualifications (NQs) in South Africa are benchmarked against equivalent international qualifications, which means that locally obtained NQs are acceptable overseas. Graduates from accredited schools are also given an official breakdown of the unit standards they have achieved, which can be scrutinised by a prospective employer
- Ratios - What is the ratio between students and lecturers? As this is a highly craft-based industry, the ideal is considered by the Department of Labour to be 14:1, giving a reasonable level of lecturer attention per student. The school should also have a reasonable ratio between practical and theoretical training, with practical training taking most of the time allocation.
- Industry placement - If the training provider offers experiential training in industry – which it should – what monitoring processes are in place to make sure that the workplace experience is valuable.
- Calibre of lecturers - Are the school's lecturers experts in their fields? Do they have experience in industry, in realistic work environments?
What is City and Guilds?
Established in 1878 as ' City and Guilds of London Institute ', its mission was to provide qualifications and certifications directly linked to workplace skills, as compared to pure academic degrees which certify knowledge but not competence on the job. This approach to learning and certification has made the name of City & Guilds synonymous with practical excellence in 22 occupational sectors, and 120 countries worldwide and has earned it worldwide recognition as a developer of competent and qualified workers, benchmarked against the best in the world. It awards over a million certificates every year in over 500 different vocational trades.
What determines the cost of culinary courses?
Cookery training is expensive due to the cost of the raw materials that are required and the need for the student to practice constantly. Costs can range from between R20 000 to R45 000 per year. When evaluating schools, find out what you get for your money. For instance, there could be hidden costs such as knives, uniforms, text books, field trips, and protective clothing. Find out what all the hidden additional costs are. Even parking can make a dent in a monthly budget.
What is the South African Chefs Association?
The South African Chefs Association (SACA) is recognised as the authority on food in South Africa . SACA is a professional culinary association of approximately 2 500 members, with five established branches throughout the country. Its members include catering and hotel company directors, restaurateurs, chefs, cooks, culinary educators, apprentices and trainees and can be found in every type of catering activity, from staff restaurants to fine dining and in-flight catering. The South African Chefs Association also plays an integral role in the training and continuous improvement of standards in the hospitality industry and abroad. For further information please visit the South African Chefs Association website at
www.saca.co.za
What are the benefits of being a SACA member?
SACA members are regularly invited, whether through their training establishment or as individuals, to enter national and international culinary competitions. This is a great opportunity for student chefs to showcase their abilities on the culinary stage, while invitations to various SACA events, workshops and demonstrations, as guests or helpers, also allows for networking opportunities. Apart from this, each SACA member also receives discounts from various SACA-affiliated corporate companies, as well as a monthly copy of Chef magazine, the official voice of the South African Chefs Association.
Are there sufficient jobs to go around??
The hospitality industry is vast, with endless jobs to be done. South Africa has a good reputation in the international culinary field and our burgeoning tourism industry is creating an increase in the need for highly qualified and committed chefs. Chefs, for example, are indispensable when it comes to training the next generation of chefs so you will find them teaching in universities, technikons and colleges. A consulting chef lends his valuable skill in menu design and implementation, while a chef that opens his own restaurant creates job opportunities for others. It's an exciting, creative and challenging profession that has to keep up-to-date with constantly changing consumer tastes and expectations in food, and people will always need to eat so there is most certainly a variety of a work opportunities available – you could find that in 2010 you'll be serving the world's top soccer stars homegrown South African delicacies in a leading hotel or restaurant.
What is highest position I could hope to achieve on completion of my diploma?
Our advice to young chefs that are just embarking on their careers is to focus less on the salary that may be paid and more on getting experience. You can never go wrong in the hospitality industry if you first take your time to thoroughly develop your skills while building a list of contacts.
What is course ratio between practical and theoretical training at HTA?
This is a very important question as any school you choose should have a reasonable ratio between practical and theoretical training, with practical training taking most of the time allocation. During your first year at HTA, you will undergo 20 weeks of theoretical work and 20 weeks of practical. While undertaking the practical training, you will be placed for experiential training in any of the top hospitality establishments in the country. The second year is usually more exciting, with 20 weeks spent on practical training, 3 weeks spent on additional specialist training, and 16 weeks on theory.
Which hotel establishments are used for experiential/practical training?
At HTASCA, students are placed in many of the top hotels within the hospitality industry. Some of the frequently used establishments include the Sandton Hilton, the Inter-Continental Sandton Sun and Towers, the Michelangelo, the Saxon, the Indaba Hotel and many others. It is usual for these establishments to offer graduating students a job after the course has ended.
