Too many cooks spoil the broth? Perhaps not enough ...Culinary workers are again a hot commodity, at least in California, according to this California Jobs Journal story from December.

I've always entertained the idea of going into culinary arts, and even took a semester of courses at one point in my varied academic career. Though the hours are long, and the work is tough, eventually if you become a chef or top assistant, you could launch a small business entrepreneurship of your own. I've seen some great successes, as well as sputtering failures at this, but it is worth the risk. By coupling your culinary studies with management skills, you can one day open your own restaurant - whether you are in Los Angeles or Lima - it all depends on innovation, marketing, appropriate atmosphere, some luck, and above all - great food.

In Las Vegas, mostly known for sin and glitz, you'll also find a large community of chefs. All those buffets take a lot of work, and a lot of workers. Here is a story from American Prospect about Sin City's claim as a worker's paradise with a strong hotel worker's union.

The hotel workers' union boosted wages and transformed dead-end jobs into middle-class careers in the very belly of the casino economy.

Not so far away from these locales (well, Lima is a bit of a stretch) Arizona Culinary and Westwood College offer programs on-campus only at this time. If you are near these or are interested, you can find more information here.

If you want to study up on a life in culinary arts before diving into the pot, here are a couple books that you should check out.

This, about the crème de le crème of culinary schools, the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) ... The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America, by Michael Ruhlman.

The Values of Good Food by Corby Kummer looks at the culinary movement as a philosophy of life.

And lastly, if you want to find out if you can cook something more substantial than a pot of boiling water, here is one of the supreme sites for recipes and all things gastronomic ...Epicurious.

Epicurious also has a great resource about the best culinary programs, courses and learning opportunities.