Working in Culinary Arts - not necessarily a chef

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I am looking for ways to work in the field of culinary arts. I don't necessarily want to be a chef but I do want to work with food. My ideal job would be working at a food magazine or in a test kitchen. I already have a four-year degree (in Spanish) and have been working in an administrative position for three years. But I don't have any specialized culinary education (minus what I do in my own kitchen). My questions are:
1) Do I need to attend culinary school to get a base in culinary arts? Is this the best way to get my foot in the door?
2) What kinds of jobs are out there in the culinary arts that aren't necessarily chef positions?

Thanks for any and all comments!

By George (George) on Wednesday, April 04, 2001 - 09:26 am: Edit

As far as test kitchen jobs from what I've heard these days either you need a degree in food technology or you have to know someone, of both.

There are so few positions and so many folks that like the idea of playing in the kithcen that even if you have a good culinary back ground you will never hear of an open position.

By not wanting to be a chef I assume you don't want to be a cook in production either. (there are lots of jobs there)

There are so many folks out there with both a culinary degree and kitchen time, that are burnt out after a year or so in the kitchen(or 20 years)looking for this type of position that my guess is your chances are nill, unless you know someone.

Sorry.

By Erin (Erin) on Thursday, April 05, 2001 - 03:39 pm: Edit

Pardon my ignorance - but what's does being cook in production involve?

By George (George) on Thursday, April 05, 2001 - 07:10 pm: Edit

Working the line, hot or cold, making and serving food for banquets, doing prep and a myriad of other repetitive tasks.