About Culinary Arts

Are you a food lover with a creative flair looking for a job that is interesting, challenging, and rewarding? If so, the exciting world of culinary arts may be calling your name. You’ll find all you need to know right here at training.com.au.

What is Culinary Arts?

Culinary arts is all about getting creative with food, in particular by preparing, cooking, and presenting just about any dish, dessert, or delicacy you can imagine.This dynamic profession varies from region to region depending on factors such as the local history, available ingredients, and even the weather, all of which can have a dramatic influence on culinary styles, flavours, and techniques.

Furthermore, many cultures have their own unique culinary arts traditions that have been passed down over hundreds or even thousands of years.

Culinary Arts Jobs

The following are just some of the many culinary arts jobs currently available:

  • Caterer
  • Banquet Chef
  • Prep Cook
  • Executive Chef
  • Pastry Chef
  • Line Cook
  • Kitchen Manager
  • Sous Chef

Culinary Arts in Australia

Australia has fast become one of the world’s hottest culinary arts destinations, both for those looking to enjoy delicious food as well as those interested in learning how to create it.

In 2017, two Australian restaurants were named to the illustrious ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ list – which were Attica (#32) and Brae (#44) – while Australian chefs continue to light up the culinary arts scene worldwide, including big names such as Dave Pynt, Skye Gyngell, and Matthew Crabbe

Culinary arts training in Australia is also considered world-class, with students flocking from all over the globe to take our exclusive patisserie courses, study commercial cookery at TAFE, and hone their skills in our highly regarded chef courses.

Today, tens of thousands of men and women work in culinary arts throughout Australia, many of who got their start via TAFE cooking apprenticeship programs. While jobs can be found all over the country, our biggest culinary arts centres right now are the major cities of Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne.
Working in culinary arts can involve long hours and both evening and weekend shifts are common; however, many roles are also well compensated, for example, Heads Chefs typically bring home around $77,371 P/A.

Cooking Courses

Whether you have your heart set on a career as a Chef or just want to take your culinary art skills to a new level this year, at training.com.au we make finding your perfect course easy. You’ll find everything from patisserie courses in Melbourne to commercial cookery courses in Sydney and just about any culinary arts course you can imagine in between, all of which are taught by skilled and qualified professionals.

Certificate level courses provide a great way to get started, as they offer an ideal mix of in-class theory and hands-on practice. For example, a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery touches upon everything from understanding basic food safety to developing your knife skills right through to mastering the art of stock control. Best of all, most certificate level cookery courses can be completed in less than 12 months.

If you’d like to move beyond entry-level roles a little faster consider investing a diploma, as these popular programs will advance your culinary art skills across the board in a hurry. For instance, a commercial cookery course at the diploma level will typically involve 2 years of full-time study and cover topics including commercial cooking techniques, food cost estimating, nutrition, resource management, and even menu design. Better yet, those hard-earned qualifications will be recognised nation-wide.

Got big dreams for a career in culinary arts at the management level? If so, you’ll be well served by a bachelor level program, which usually involves up to 4 years of full-time study. Here you’ll learn a broad range of specialised cooking techniques; get up to speed on issues such as ethics and sustainability; master the art of managing restaurant service, and even polish your marketing and communication skills. Graduates will emerge ready to take on roles with higher pay and more responsibility, including those of Executive Chef and Operations Manager.

No matter where you’d like to go with your culinary arts skills, training.com.au can help, because whether you are searching for TAFE cooking courses in Brisbane, a cake decorating program in Perth, or Chinese cooking courses in Melbourne, we can connect you with the training you want and need, right now.

Career prospects

Few jobs are more future-proof than those in culinary arts; after all, people are unlikely to give up their love of beautiful and delicious food anytime soon. In fact, according to the latest Australian Government employment data, the next 5 years will see stable growth for Food Trade Assistants, moderate growth for Bakers and Pastry Cooks, and strong growth for Chefs.

Is a career in Culinary Arts right for you?

To enjoy a successful career in culinary arts you need to be a special type of person, one who is not only creative, hard-working, and determined, but also good with numbers, an expert at time management, and highly organised. The following skills and talents are also a must:

  • Clear communication
  • Attention to detail
  • High-level multi-tasking
  • Physical fitness
  • Exceptional customer service
  • Calm under pressure

Think you’ve got what it takes to thrive in culinary arts? If so, then what are you waiting for? Just compare your many great course options, find the one that suits your wants and needs best, and get started today!