Now that you have taken a few basic cooking classes your passion for cooking is greater than ever. However, you are still unsure about pursuing a career in culinary arts. The best way to determine this would be to get out into the field and try working in a professional kitchen.

Get additional material regarding cooking classes.

You may need to be tenacious to find a restaurant willing to let you work in the kitchen or at least watch the proceedings, but if you take the time to set up a meeting with the owner or senior chef and explain to them why you’re doing this, at least one restaurant should be willing to take you on as either an intern, a line cook or a prep cook, especially during their busiest time of the year. Whichever job you get, it’s not likely to be glamorous, but that’s actually a good thing. If you spend adequate time working in the lower ranks and still have motivation to continue a career in the culinary arts, you should then consider attending a culinary arts school.

The experience of working in a restaurant environment will be totally different than the cooking classes you had just participated in. You will quickly realize the pace of restaurant is extremely fast and there is no room for mistakes. To start, you will probably slice vegetables, prepare the kitchen, clean up after everyone, but if the end goal is to become a culinary professional you will need to be familiar with all aspects of culinary arts. If you can show the chef you are working for that you have all of the right skills, they may give you the opportunity to work in every kitchen station. This will give you a better feel for life in the culinary arts than cooking classes ever could.

Find cooking classes in your region.

If this is your first time in a restaurant, you’ll want to keep your head down and just follow instructions for at least the first month, or until you have a complete picture of how things are done in that restaurant. Most chefs wouldn’t have a problem answering questions you may have in off-peak hours. If you create a strong relationship with your supervisor, your restaurant experience will be much more enjoyable and you will have earned a great letter of recommendation.