If you've worked in restaurants throughout your later teens, and you think that you might be keen to pursue a more involved career in the industry, you might want to think about enrolling in a French cuisine course in a specialized college.
Whether you're used to serving French food in a restaurant, or drinks at an upmarket hotel bar, you will find that some experience working in hospitality will give you the edge over those students who have come directly to class from school with no prior training.
As a server or as a member of the bar staff, you will find that you have accrued a variety of skills and some essential knowledge that will help you to get through your French cuisine course. For example, you will have some understanding of how a professional kitchen functions, having worked with French chefs and expediters before, and this will save you from having to learn the process from scratch.
It is important, however, that as a student at a hospitality school or catering college, you do not rest on your laurels, so to speak. It is vital that you actively engage in the business of learning right from the start, and that you pay attention even to features like the French culture or the French language.
In short, it is a good idea to come to a French cuisine school with some experience of the industry; you will find that this makes life a lot easier for you as a student. However, at the same time, you will still need to work very hard, and to remember that only experience in France will guarantee your success.
