The western state of Utah is a diverse culinary state. With over 2.9 million residents, there are plenty of potential clients for you to serve as a chef. Many people live in Utah’s largest cities, which include Salt Lake City, West Valley City, and Provo. These cities are also home to some of Utah’s best restaurants, like Forage, the Copper Onion, and Bambara Salt Lake City.
The cost of living in Utah is very close to the national average. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average household income in Utah is over $5,000 higher than the national average.
There are eight excellent culinary schools in Utah, most of which are in the upper half of the state. While most schools here offer Associate’s degree programs and certificate programs, there are schools that have Bachelor’s degree programs. The average cost of tuition here is $7,183, which is offset by the average scholarship award of $1,653. Since the average acceptance rate is 54%, you need to put your best foot forward.
No matter which type of program you decide to complete, you tackle the same general culinary fields. You have to learn basic kitchen skills, like vegetable dicing, beef filleting, and fish cleaning. These tasks are very important, since you are likely to do them every day in your future career.
However, it is also important to learn about how to be an executive chef or sous chef. Schools also cover more difficult jobs like creating your own recipes, planning menus, and managing food costs. Another essential part of being a good chef is knowing how to run a kitchen, so you can expect to learn about managing staff, timing food, and handing a busy dinner service.
Many schools give you the chance to take elective courses. If you ever want to own a restaurant or catering company, business and management courses can give you the business background you need to succeed.
After completing your culinary program, it’s finally time to start your culinary career! You have to decide which way you want to take your cooking career. Restaurant jobs are the most prevalent; the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that 46% of chefs work in restaurants. However, chefs can also be employed by private chef companies and catering companies. Ambitious chefs may be interested in becoming self-employed; you can do this by working as a private chef, running a catering company, or opening a restaurant.
In Utah, some of the main culinary employers are Vail Resorts, LSG Sky Chefs, and Grand Teton National Park.
One of the advantages of working in Utah is that you get to start your career as soon as you graduate. This is because Utah does not have any licensure or certification requirements in place for chefs. The American Culinary Federation awards certification in many different cooking specialties.
When you start as a chef, you’ll likely start out as a line chef. Line chefs earn the lowest salaries in the kitchen, but there is lots of room for upward growth. Many line chefs end up becoming sous chefs or line chefs.
The average salary for a cook in Utah is $22,400 per year (O*Net, 2012). Chefs in Utah earn, on average, $41,800 per year (O*Net, 2012).
As a chef or cook, you can look forward to a strong job outlook through 2020. The job outlook for cooks in Utah is expected to increase by 20% between 2010 and 2020 (O*Net, 2010). In that same time frame, chefs can anticipate an 8% increase in job openings (O*Net, 2010).