Food and Beverage Education and Training

Food and beverage education and training takes the cake
By Nikki Davis Whether you are an aspiring chef or bartender or the parent of one, finding the best food and beverage education and training programs is a critical education decision not to be taken lightly.

When looking at food and beverage manager training, consider what sort of career path you want to take with the degree or program. Whether you are you looking into going into culinary arts or bartending, finding the food and beverage training program or school is imperative to the path you or your child will want to take.

To find the best food and beverage training programs:

1. Look at ranked or noted food and beverage education programs.

2. Weigh scholarship opportunities at all of your choices. Top food and beverage training programs may not have the scholarship offerings that you require, while a smaller school may cover a large portion of your tuition costs.

3. Visit the campus of your choice before making a commitment. See their food and beverage education program first hand to make sure it will be a good fit for you.

Look at industry statistics before starting your search for food and beverage training programs

Before you choose to pursue food and beverage training, look at some of the statistics in the field.
Try:  Look at stats for food service management from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. Check out restaurant management career descriptions and job opportunities at Culinary-Careers.org.

Use a food and beverage training search engine or directory

Instead of using Google or Yahoo, look to search engines specifically designed to give you information by programs such as food and beverage education and training.
Try:  Find the right food and beverage schools for you at QuinStreet, Inc.'s Find the Right Culinary School site. Look up other cooking schools at CookingSchools.com. Cooking Schools 101 is another culinary arts school directory source. There's a list of State-Licensed Bartending Schools at Bartending Professional Bartending Schools of America, Inc.

Look at nationally noted food and beverage manager training programs

Scope out highly visible notable food and beverage training programs.
Try:  Check out the online learning tools from 360training’s Hospitality Education Division. There you can find solutions for Alcohol Safety Training, Food Hygiene Training, HACCP Training and Nutrition Education. Check out the programs available at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. Look at the food and beverage school from the Center for Advanced Food Technology (CAFT) at Rutgers University. The program is a joint effort between the food industry, the school and government. Also consider the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN). It is a food and beverage industry training program established between the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the University of Maryland.

• When looking at schools with food and beverage training programs, speak with both their faculty and their students. A school may be ranked as one of the best food and beverage manager training programs, but if their students don't feel that the experience has been rewarding for them, you might reconsider the school itself.