It looks so easy and we've all tried it. Here at the California Culinary Academy, students spend up to ten hours a day perfecting their skills to make sure someday people will. But it takes more than just learning recipes to become a qualified chef. Like any craft, to become a professional you need to master the basics. But it's not all technical.
Cooking can definitely be an art, and that's what drew many of the students here.
But there are some, like Alex Marasovich, who enroll in the Academy just hoping for a better quality of life. I used to be a computer programmer. I would sit in front of a cubicle and stare at a computer all day long and really not talk to anyone. And I wanted a career that I could relate with people. There are some things you can only learn on the job.