Chef School Review is a guide to chef schools offering education, diplomas, and degree programs (including Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Programs) in cooking and culinary arts.

By Kirk Bangstad
Kirk.bangstad@chefschoolreview.com
Chef School Review Columnist

When it comes to winning catering awards, The Disney Company's Food and Beverage department takes the cake. Their reputation is based in part on the extent of their operations. The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando alone employs 350 chefs. The food and beverage team employs almost 300 sommeliers, and is supposedly the world's largest purveyor of fine wines.* When you think about the volume of Disney's catering business, its easy to see how they couldn't survive without a high level of organization. Disney' catering reputation and the reputation for its magical theme parks has helped them become a top spot for corporate functions such as conventions and team-building meetings.

A Great Place to Find a Catering Job

As you can probably see, there are a number of catering jobs to be found at Disney, and you can bet that the demand for catering jobs will be strong for a number of years to come. Disney sets a high bar for their employees, so if you're hoping to eventually start your catering career with them, you'll probably want to spend some time at a catering school to learn the trade.

The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) prepares more students in the Chicago area for successful careers in food service than any other culinary school — using the traditional, European hands-on approach to culinary education that was previously difficult to obtain in the Midwest. Affiliated with the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, CHIC combines classical cooking techniques with leading-edge American technology.

Catering Schools give Students Career Advantages

Attending a catering school will give you a leg up in the catering job market. By taking a number of catering courses, you'll pick up a great deal of culinary and business skills that will impress potential employers and look good on your resume. By eventually landing a job with a large catering employer such as Disney, you'll meet many other catering professionals and will build your professional network, all the while enhancing the skills you learned at catering school. Once you have a good handle on the catering business, you'll have a number of career options. You can look for promotion within a large company, or use your network to start your own catering business. Try not to set up shop too close to Epcot Center, however. The competition is pretty stiff.

*Source: Disney Catering

About the Author

Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University

Posted on September 6, 2005 at 11:29 AM

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