Show Me the Money

You’ve finally made the decision to enroll in culinary school and pursue your passion to become a chef. Where’s the money going to come from to finance your culinary dream?

The road to a chef job may not be paved with gold but there is some tasty scholarship money available if you know where to look. Various culinary foundations and professional culinary associations, celebrity chefs like Charlie Trotter, and culinary schools and institutes have established scholarships to help aspiring chefs, such as yourself, to realize their culinary dreams.

Golden Culinary Icon

The James Beard Foundation, founded in honor of world-famous icon to the culinary world and ‘Father of American Gastronomy,’ awarded a total of $251,150 in funds in 2005 to 86 recipients. The foundation offers ten $1,000 general culinary scholarships each year. The ‘Friends of James Beard’ fund eight non-specific annual culinary scholarships totaling almost $16,000. ‘Additional Friends of James Beard’ fund almost $120,000 in scholarships that have a variety of requirements. Are you enrolled in a Master of Science Program in Viticulture and Enology? Are you interested in a career in Hospitality Management? Are you a low-income minority student interested in attending culinary school? If so, there’s a culinary scholarship tailored specifically for you. Many of these scholarships fund culinary students from specific states.

The Culinary Trust Fund

The Culinary Trust is another funding resource. In 2007-2008, it will award almost $140,000 in scholarship funds to new culinary school students, students who are already enrolled in a culinary school, and professional chefs who are seeking additional educational or research opportunities. Their scholarship program, funded by a variety of top culinary schools and institutes, includes the Julia Child Endowment Fund Scholarship, which provides funding for a lucky chef-to-be to travel to France for independent study on French history, wine, food, and culture.

Invest in Your Culinary Future

These are only a few of the resources you can tap into to fund your culinary school education. If you’re serious about your education, there is money out there to help. Believe in your personal culinary dream, take some time to look for culinary scholarships, invest in your culinary future, and there may be a chef’s hat and apron in your future.

Sources

James Beard Foundation
Journeys Restaurant
The Culinary Trust

About the Author

Judi Sandall is a technical writer and a regular Chef School Review columnist. She is a graduate of the State University of New York, with a BA in English Literature.

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