Some possible jobs within this career area are:
Your career goal will determine the type of certification you need. In fields related to the culinary arts, you could earn a:
- Certificate
- Associate’s Degree
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Master’s Degree
- PhD
Many careers in the culinary arts stem from entrepreneurship. In short, a lot of people who are successful in these careers start their own business. If you want to own a restaurant or be a chef, you’ll need to be a self-starter who can devote the time to grow a business. Beyond self-owned businesses, the culinary arts are related to luxury, or dispensable income items. People tend to eat in restaurants more when they have more money on hand, which means restaurant and food careers are more plentiful when the economy is good. The same is true for hospitality management and catering careers.
The time it takes to complete your degree or course of study depends on your career goal. You could get your Associate’s Degree and become a certified chef in two years, or you could continue school and get a four-year degree in business.
How to Become a Sommelier
If you announce that you plan on a sommelier career, many may not realize that you aspire to become a wine steward. A sommelier is typically employed by an upscale restaurant, luxury hotel, or cruise line and has extensive knowledge of not only wines but the foods they accompany. Those who choose a wine steward career must be able to recommend and properly serve wines to customers, maintain the wine inventory of the establishment, and acquire the wines from the vineyards and wineries where they are produced.
Many who plan to become a sommelier attend a culinary school first, learning about food chemistry and preparation as well as how to pair wines with foods. Others who wish to become a wine steward learn on the job under the supervision of the sommelier in charge of wines at an upscale establishment. You can expect to spend two to three years in training, whether it is earning an associate’s degree or learning from an experienced professional.
Whether the initial education is formal or by apprenticeship, your next step into a sommelier career will typically entail earning certification from an organization dedicated to sommeliers, such as the Sommelier Society of America or the International Wine Guild You will be trained in depth on vineyards, varieties of grapes, winemaking and the major winemaking regions of the world, wine tasting and serving, and the legal and business aspects of a wine steward career.
If you wish to join the most elite rank of those in a wine steward career you may aspire to become a Master Sommelier by passing the extensive testing of the Court of Master Sommeliers. There have been 174 Master Sommelier Diplomas awarded since 1969, with 96 of those being held by North Americans.
Wine Steward Salaries
Once you become a sommelier, you can expect an entry level position to pay approximately 428,000 a year. According to Salary.com the median sommelier salary in 2010 was over $53,000, with the median top ten percent of sommelier salaries listed as being over $72,500. The Court of Master Sommeliers states that a Master Sommelier salary is between $80,000 and $160,000 per year.
(Salary data retrieved 5/24/11)
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