After reading and studying this unit, you will be able to:

• Explain what it means to be a professional culinarian.
• Explain the importance of formal education, continuing education, and certification to a professional culinarian.
• Name and describe some career opportunities, traditional and nontraditional, pursued by cooks and chefs.
• List the important culinary trends, historical and contemporary, and describe how they affect the way the foodservice industry is organized today.
• Describe the basic hierarchy of a kitchen and name several positions in the kitchen brigade.