Recipes are important because they provide the instructions required in order to prepare a meal properly. Additionally, recipes provide critical information such as the ingredients required to prepare a meal as well as number of people a meal can serve. Culinary students are not only learning how to prepare meals, but also how to instruct others to prepare such meals. Additionally, some of the students would become supervisors in busy restaurants where instructing chefs and other staff may be a role defined in the job description. Others may be interested in becoming educators, which would entail writing recipes. As such, being able to write recipes is a skill that every culinary student should master.
Why the ‘Writing Recipe Skill’ is Important
The same kind of meal may taste different depending on where it has been ordered or the person who has prepared. For example, people in a given area tend to have specific kinds of traditional foods prepared regularly. Despite using the same ingredients or quantities, the foods may taste a bit different depending on who has prepared them. A recipe can be a great way of streamlining the process of preparing a specific kind of meal to replicate results. A good recipe does not only indicate what and how to mix, but also the right temperatures, time, and the signs to observe to determine whether the meal is cooked, as well as the flexibility that may be required to achieve a specific result. “Therefore, culinary students need to master the skill of recipe writing to ensure that they can always replicate the results of specific meals as may be required by their clients,” says Maria Johnson, a culinary writer at Bibliography vs Works Cited and TOK Essay. Additionally, the art of writing recipes will make the skills of the students transferable.
Some people may be highly talented in food preparation that they would not need a recipe to prepare the same food twice. Cooking can start at an early age and the skill and interest can inspire a person to pick a culinary career. In most cases, such people end up working in busy restaurants where specific rules must be followed. For example, although cooking can be an artistic expression involving the creative expression of colors, shapes, textures, smells and flavors, high-level restaurants would require staff such as chefs to follow specific guidelines relating to measurements of ingredients, combinations, and temperatures. Additionally, culinary professionals would be required to explain their food preparation processes to their supervisors or managers. As such, working in such places would require effective recipe writing skills.
Following graduation, most culinary students take up entry level jobs such as caterers, junior chefs, and food stylists. After gathering some experience in their respective areas, culinary professionals would want to advance to more senior roles such as senior chefs, supervisors, and restaurant managers. Such competitive careers would require specific skills, including recipe writing. For example, one of the critical roles of a senior staff is that of writing and evaluating recipes. A culinary student with good recipe writing skills would succeed in this role.
According to Elizabeth Campbell, a food writer at MLA Format Outline, “As communication tool, a recipe should be written in a clear manner that others can understand and follow to replicate the desired result.” Food preparation may be simple but requires perfection because missing a single ingredient or failing to set the right temperatures and time may lead to a completely different outcome than what was initially intended. Mastering the art of writing recipes would not only involve writing down the ingredients, quantities, time, and temperatures, but also proofing to ensure that nothing important is not listed or left out. A good recipe writer should also keep things simple yet instructive to ensure that others can follow and produce the desired results.
Although most of culinary students have a career path ending up in the kitchen such as personal chefs, sous chefs, pastry chefs, and caterers, some careers would mostly benefit from recipe writing skills. For instance, recipe development has emerged as one of the most fulfilling careers for culinary students. These professionals make dishes not only for customers but also television shows and publications such as cookbooks and magazines. A recipe developer does not only need to have good knowledge of the flavor profiles but also the cooking techniques because s/he has to explain to others how they are made to ensure effective replication. Developing good writing skills is thus critical for a culinary student who would be interested in this career path. Self-employment is also becoming common in which many professionals do not want to enroll to the normal 8 – 5 jobs. For culinary students, writing a culinary blog can help to build a thrilling freelance career. Such kind of a job would require effective recipe writing skills.
In summary, it is important for every culinary student to master the art of recipe writing because it is a critical skill in most of the plausible career paths. For example, chefs would be required to develop recipes replicating specific results. Additionally, advancing to some careers such as senior chefs would require effective recipe writing skills. A person with good recipe writing skills would easily follow another recipe and also determine errors and omissions that may result in undesired results. To develop this vital skill, culinary students should develop the habit of writing recipes regularly. Additionally, sharing or exchanging recipes with other students and sometimes experienced professionals would also help to learn from others and perfect the skill. At a time when people building careers in blogs and other forms of freelancing, recipe writing is a skill that can employ many culinary students, especially those that do not want to end up in the kitchen.