Any thoughts on Robert Morris College?

My wife and I would love to, at a much later date, head to Gatlinburg (or somewhere nearby) and start a company that provides catering to the wedding chapels down there (well, that's my business idea - she wants to open a soup and sandwich type deli place). This is where we got married and we absolutely love the area.

I saw that Robert Morris offer a culinary degree which can be completed in the evening (my goal would be to go for the Hospitality Bachelor degree after the Associate in Culinary Arts). Any thoughts on this program in particular? I would almost consider this "further learning for a possible future use" instead of "I need to get a job right now". I am happily employed as a mechanical designer and am really just looking for something else. I know alot of chefs say a degree is not necessary, but I really am interested in learning all the ins and outs of cooking on a level higher than home cook. I know Kendall College is in my back yard, but they do not offer evening classes. I don't want to quit my day job just yet!

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I know alot of chefs say a degree is not necessary

I would suggest that you find a night job or work for free somewhere to make sure that this sort of work will be a good fit. If so, a degree could be in your future. Many people start in this industry as a dream, and fail. This is because they either start a biz. with no training, because they won the lottery or training from a college. Cooking and running a restaurant requires experience as well as knowledge. I usually would tell people to go to biz. school before culinary. The cooking aspect is a trade and best learned in the field similar to a mecanic or plumber. The other half is a ton of paperwork and being happy making very little money. Of course being successful is not imposable, it is just not likely. My parents, who both have master degrees, decided to open a cafe in what seem to be a thriving location. They went bankrupt as do so many others who start in this biz. as a dream. I wish you luck in whatever path you choose. And if I had to choose your side or your wife's I would go toward catering. The overhead and % return is much higher, as well as the odds of being succesful.

blucrsr wrote:I know alot of chefs say a degree is not necessary

I am not a chef, but I talk to a lot of them about their careers and the industry, and the only ones who say that are those who don't have a degree themselves, and not all that many of them. This may have been true 20 or 30 years ago, when it the business was more of a trade with something of an apprenticeship scheme, but it's less true in the more competitive business situation of today, particularly for chefs who want to reach the highest echelons with earnings to match.

figjustin wrote:I would suggest that you find a night job or work for free somewhere to make sure that this sort of work will be a good fit. If so, a degree could be in your future.

This is very good advice. Before you invest a lot of money into education for a career change, it's best to make sure you can stand the work, which can be grueling. Chefs who love their work are some of the happiest people I know, but for those who don't love it, it's torture.

LAZ wrote:Chefs who love their work are some of the happiest people I know, but for those who don't love it, it's torture.

LAZ,

Ellen and I recently visited Jazzfood at his current project in Miami and I have never seen the guy happier. He had been working 15-hour days, just got the kitchen set up and all the equipment installed, there were at least a dozen people in the kitchen, including kitchen staff, construction workers* and the occasional city/state/utility representative all asking Alan (Jazzfood) questions at once. This isn't counting the people working on the restaurant, lounge and 5 dine-in theaters.

Alan, the calm eye of the storm, had a smile on his face and glint in his eye, he was dead-center of his element.

In speaking to Alan they finished the kitchen that evening and started cooking through the menu, of his design, the very next day. Lucky there's a lot of construction workers on hand as they were making multiples of multiples of each menu item.

photo by Jazzfood


Enjoy,
Gary

This is a from-scratch project

Kendall does have evening classes but it is strictly certificate based. I used to work in admissions there and based off of what you are looking for, I would recommend those. Email me if you want some further information or the name of someone you could talk to there.

blucrsr wrote:My wife and I would love to, at a much later date, head to Gatlinburg (or somewhere nearby) and start a company that provides catering to the wedding chapels down there (well, that's my business idea - she wants to open a soup and sandwich type deli place). This is where we got married and we absolutely love the area.

I saw that Robert Morris offer a culinary degree which can be completed in the evening (my goal would be to go for the Hospitality Bachelor degree after the Associate in Culinary Arts). Any thoughts on this program in particular? I would almost consider this "further learning for a possible future use" instead of "I need to get a job right now". I am happily employed as a mechanical designer and am really just looking for something else. I know alot of chefs say a degree is not necessary, but I really am interested in learning all the ins and outs of cooking on a level higher than home cook. I know Kendall College is in my back yard, but they do not offer evening classes. I don't want to quit my day job just yet!

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

It is true, Kendall still offers a night program for your cetificate in culinary arts. Once you complete that many of the classes transfer if you want to do their AAS program. They don't however, suggest you work while completing your AAS as it is so intensive. Something to think about. However, Kendalls programs reputation is much higher than Robert Morris, so it is something to consider, even if you do the certificate program, deciede weather or not it is for you and then continue your education.

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Justin, I was actually thinking of a business degree as a good foundation.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Kendall College and their certificate program. This might be a great way to get my feet wet while learning something new.

Once again, thanks!

Any experiance you get will help you decide if this industry is for you. All of us will tell you its because of the love and passion for this industry that drives us. To those that continue in this industry without the passion for them, I recommend change.
Either starting at a dogger stand or commercial fast food giant is an early life great exposure. As for hoping and wishing to open something in life at a later stage. Like a child born you will have to look after it with that same attention.
It becomes you and yours. Dedication, commitment. Relocate find your type of work down there. Start a catering Business. Start slow, build your catering Business.
If you are looking for heaps of money right away, you will be sadden. On the other hand catering is like shooting fish in a barrel. You know how many, they will be there, just set your price and treat the people the way you would like to be treated.
My daughter just graduated Robert Morris in the deggree you mentioned. I did not open my Hot Dog stand till I was 46. Worked full time at my other job and full time at my Stand. Loved every minute at my stand. (passion).
Robert Morris will fit your wallet. My daughter would rate Morris as a 4 on a scale of ten culinary. But through Robert Morris she studied in Florence Italy for ten weeks and did an internship there. Experiance is experiance which is alway good. If that will be your maiden voyage in this industry like a past post on this subject go work somewhere, even like they say for free at a freinds place. Because you have to know if you really can stand the heat in the kitchen. I mean temperature. In front of those grills. You know you can if You will walk outside into 100 degree weather and say it feels like room temperature. No problem.
Never one to say you can't, never one to asked for help at a store for fear they will tell me no they do not have what I need;
Dean
P.s To everyone who tries a dream I say make a million dollars. Keep in touch!