Cooking Schools

Anybody here ever try to open their own cooking school ?
I've been seriously thinking about it lately.
Something small, 10-15 students in the am and the same for the pm.
With a cafe and Pastry/Bakery Shop next to it, same building.
Do some light catering, by that I mean not to many gigs at once.

One Ex. Chef/Instructer
Pastry Chef Instructer, and one asst. Night pastry chef(to do prep, serve, ect.)
Two Sous Chefs Instructers, one am, one pm.
(to over see the lines both lunch and dinner)
What would that be per year in salary.....with those chefs...$185,000.00 ?

It seems to me since the labor(students) is already there there would not be a shortage of workers to cover breakfast/lunch/dinner and any catering.

15 studends at $10,000. per year is $150,000.00
and the rotation would be what for the studends, every 6 months you start a new semester right ?
So that makes it $300,000.00 per year coming in from studends. But that also means you'd have 30 students per shift. WOW.

Anybody know what a Cafe/Bakery/Pastry shop makes in a year ?...with a little catering thrown in, could it be up near $ 250,000.00 ?

Sorry, I'm trying to figure if with all the major expences, and the top of my head figures above, it would be tight, even with kickback from state program money, and tax breaks.
I wonder if you could break even ?
and give the chefs 2 weeks paid Vacation and complete health and give the Ex. Chef a house.
What is it, $300. per month for complete blue cross/blue shield ?

I guess you'd need about 2 million to get it going right ?
and a half a million for every year after that.
I guess you would need a place twice as big as a sizzler steak house lets say (?)

Any imput, thoughts ??

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Friday, October 20, 2006 - 12:59 am: Edit

60,000.00 for the Ex. Chef
45,000.00 for the Pastry Chef
35,000.00 for each Sous Chef
30,000.00 for the Night Pastry Chef

Thats $205,000.00 for Chefs salary's per year.
You couldn't go much lower than that right ?
Thats a pretty fair salary with health and vacation thrown in, right in todays market ?

By George (George) on Friday, October 20, 2006 - 08:39 am: Edit

Hey Spike,

I think your bigest problem will be getting bodies to fill the seats.

There are hundreds of culinary programs out there now that spend a sizable percentage of their budgets trying to get folks to fill their seats. And they have name recognition.

I wount even get itno the ancillary costs of running a school- food product, Taxes and Workmans comp Insurance and bennies for employees, liability insurance, utilities, etc, etc, etc.

Also depending on culinary students for labor is kind of nuts. Jeez graduates often can't cook in production.

All of that said here in my neck of the woods (location deleted to avoid law suit) two lawyers started a program and are making big bucks. They specialize in craming classrooms with borderline students and getting them to fill out student loan forms to pay the bills, often from public assistance education programs. They were so sleazy that I took a shower after meeting with them to do their website when they first started. But they are making big bucks. I don't think this is what you are looking to do.

I'd take the 2 mill , (10% of that) and open a breakfast and lunch place on Rt 1 in the Florida Keys. Flippin eggs and burgers and still time to do a sunset sail and happy hour. (and cash money)

G

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Friday, October 20, 2006 - 02:37 pm: Edit

and hang out with Manny ?
he attracks huricanes that one does.

I think with any biz your going to have all those costs, no matter how small or big, so that is not a factor.
and student loans, well if the cost of the program is lower than most, then I could still sleep at night even if the students had to take out a loan.
and besides you can't just use students as labor without paying them something.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 04:15 pm: Edit

See I want to set this up the same as how I learned.
Providing for the Ex. Chef/Instuctor and the Sous Chef's is a must. You have to keep them happy.
As far as students doing labor it keeps the cost down for taking the program and every one will be supervised by a Sous Chef no matter am or pm.
When you think about it, the best learning inviroment is a working, selling kitchen of all aspects. It's a much better rounded out way to learn.
I won't be teaching a class, I would not want to scare anyone away. LOL.
Any specialty stuff like sugar work, ice carvings, old time butchering, eruopean styled butchering, ect. will be farmed out to people brought in to teach just that.
Doing it that way takes some work hours off the Instructors.
You just can't expect them to be there all the time to teach EVERYTHING, there has to be a limit.

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 07:51 pm: Edit

Spike, the problem starting a school is setting up with all the beurocratic bull to accept financial aid and all the other freeloader tuition reimbursement programs, do you know that barely 35% of students today pay for their own education.
It's good if you are in the upscale neighborhoods and the bored wives want to take cooking classes during the day to get away from the house.....you can feed them a few glasses of wine and have some fancy dish ready when they wake up and are ready to go shopping!!!!!
Have fun, get paid ahead

By George (George) on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 06:51 am: Edit

"bored wives want to take cooking classes during the day to get away from the house.....you can feed them a few glasses of wine"

Now we're on to something.

Spike, sorry you are now the lead Chef Instructor, in charge of educating all those lonely houswives. I can see the TV commercials now.

I take back my previous skepticism. Spike you can do this! ;<)

G

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 11:55 am: Edit

You can call it "Spike's Desperate House Wives Cooking Academy"

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 08:28 pm: Edit

I'm NOT cooking or teaching anybody.
Not even housewives who need a break from doing there nails.
but this show thing might be something I'll look into.
ya never know.........

By Flattop (Flattop) on Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 01:23 pm: Edit

You need an assistant?? I'll be ready in a year or two...

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 02:09 pm: Edit

Heres what I was thinking.......

American for the Ex. Chef
Belgain for the Pastry chef,
American Asst. P. C.
One American Sous Chef,
The other French.

and then there's me, just to yell at people.