Historically, there has been conflict in regards to the perceived value of postsecondary culinary education between those who feel culinary school better prepares students to enter the foodservice industry versus those who claim that claim culinary careers can be entered without formal training and everything that needs be known can be learned on the job. The typical assessments regarding the value or return on investment of college programs emphasize graduation rates, employability, initial gross wages and other short-term economic benefits. This IPA study moves away from the standard measurements with participants given the opportunity to articulate their own individual definitions of success and performance in order to develop a complete understanding of the topic. The study shows the primary benefits from culinary school are learning new skills and techniques and gaining a better perspective of the industry with internships/externships playing a key role in their development. Participants felt their culinary school experience prepared them to enter the workforce though there were observed differences in the mindset of employees who attended culinary school and those who had not. The data expresses the participants' judgement that they would recommend culinary school to others with qualifications but that, overall, their culinary education was "worth it." The data also further brought to light the influence of an emotional connection to food and the concept of a passion or career calling. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]