Salaries:

Graduates from the NTCB course are qualified to find employment as third-year commis chefs, generally earning less than £200 a week, but demand is pushing up this rate. Graduates with a certificate or a degree also find employment in a wide range of food-related industries and the health sector, where wages vary. All professional chef and culinary arts courses report almost complete employment rates.

Professional association:

The Panel of Chefs is the national chefs' association and it is affiliated with the World Association of Cooks' Societies. The Panel of Chefs is involved in promoting professional cookery and encouraging participation in competition. Students from the Cathal Brugha Street school of catering are currently the World Youth Culinary Champions and came second in this year's Culinary Olympics youth category.

Points required:

This year's final-round points for the degree course in culinary arts were 250 - down from 280 in 1999, which was the first year of the course. The final-round points for the certificate in culinary arts were 225 this year, up from 200 in 1999.