(FORTUNE Small Business) – Used to be, people fantasized about quitting their day jobs to become the next Barbra Streisand or Reggie Jackson. Belting show tunes or home runs may still tempt some, but these days the trendiest fantasy career is that of a celebrity chef.

We have become a nation obsessed with good eats and learning how to prepare them. Fully stocked gourmet aisles are replacing the generic food section as more American households pass up cheese that's individually sliced and make the switch from iceberg lettuce to arugula. No wonder, then, that the Food Network is one of the fastest-growing cable channels--its ratings are up an average of 33% from last year's. "There is an increased demand" for culinary-degree programs, says Dennis Craig, the director of admissions at the Culinary Institute of America, where applications are up 63% since last year.

To satisfy your Bobby Flay-wannabe urges without giving up your day job, consider a cooking vacation. Some of the country's top restaurants now offer--for a price--the chance to see if you can really take the proverbial heat in a real kitchen. At the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, $1,600 buys you a day in the kitchen with executive chef Dean Fearing, a personalized chef's jacket, a night in the luxurious Mansion hotel, and a Lone Star State-sized dinner (more on that later). For several hundred more you can intern for a week at The French Laundry in California's Napa Valley, or cross the Atlantic to cook alongside Michelin three-star chef Georges Blanc in Burgundy, France. And Takashi Yagihashi, named one of the top 10 new chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine, will let you into the kitchen of Tribute, his restaurant in Farmington Hills, Mich., for free, although it'll cost you to eat there.

While the chefs will accommodate your interests, don't expect to be whipping up souffles or devising a new tasting menu. "I'm not going to give guests a very difficult project," says Yagihashi. "I don't want them to freak out." Expect to chop, clean, and watch.

For the passionate amateur, the real boon is getting to see a master at work. "These people are so dedicated," marvels Steve Scales, 43, a vice president with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Memphis, of the Mansion kitchen crew. Scales, who's catering a friend's wedding reception for 150 this month, quickly acclimated to the kitchen's frenzied pace. "Organized chaos would be the best way to describe it," he says.

While I don't plan on changing careers, I too have dreamt of standing in front of a 10-burner Vulcan stove, sauteing and braising, tossing kosher salt and parsley. Wondering if I had the stuff of chefs, I spent the day with Dean Fearing and the rest of the Mansion on Turtle Creek kitchen as a crew member.

While I happily fulfilled my foodie fantasies, I quickly learned that going on a culinary vacation is more work than play. First of all, there are no chairs. The cooks at the Mansion, many of whom wear comfy-looking rubber clogs, stand all day. That is, when they're not running, dodging dishwashers pushing large, rolling carts of plates, or hefting heavy saucepans. I arrived at 10 a.m. and by 11:30 had decided that the freedom to sit down is by far the most underrated perk of an office job. Cooking may require intellect and artistry, but it's hard physical labor--dress accordingly.

A second, happier discovery: You get to eat a lot. For part of the morning, the pastry chefs have the taxing job of selecting which new cake to put into their rotation--peanut-butter chocolate and banana or coffee with Kahlua-flavored frosting. Luckily, guests can participate in the decision-making. (For the record, I said peanut butter, but they went with the coffeecake.) After my morning cake inspection, there was a raspberry-guava-macadamia concoction to sample, as well as Cheddar-cheese bread sticks, walnut ice cream, and a pear-port vinaigrette to accompany the lobster tartare and fried quail egg I would later consume as part of an eight-course tasting menu. Do not think about your cholesterol level.

Next, don't be surprised if the surroundings aren't quite as glamorous as Emeril's studio kitchen. Expect fluorescent lighting, lots of stainless steel, and appliances that have stood the test of time. The kitchen can get uncomfortably hot, and the walk-in refrigerator/freezers are, surprise, very cold, and not a good idea for anyone with claustrophobia.

Then there's the pace. It was a "slow" day with only a few lunch reservations, but the staff worked at warp speed. The man who cuts and cleans the fish plucked all the tiny bones from an 18-inch-long slab of salmon with a pair of needle-nosed pliers, a painstaking task that took him all of 30 seconds. He cut the fish into portions, which a hot-line cook coated in cracked black pepper and seared in a skillet when the lunch orders started to trickle in. Another cook sauteed asparagus spears and piled them onto two plates along with the fish and fist-sized dollops of horseradish mashed potatoes prepared earlier. To ensure maximum customer satisfaction, the servings were identical in size and presentation. The cooks finished in 10 minutes, which is the same amount of time it took me to mince a tiny handful of chives later that afternoon, a project I executed poorly and that sealed the coffin on my culinary career aspirations.

In most other respects, a professional kitchen resembles the average workplace. People are fanatical about their equipment--each cook has his own set of knives--there's plenty of gossip and Diet Coke, and the boss delegates and sets the tone, which is remarkably laid-back. A lanky Kentuckian with folksy charm to spare, Fearing jokes, "No one is ever, like, 'I want to be a corporate attorney.' People tell me I've got the greatest job. And then their next question is, 'How come you're not fat?'"

Good question. The Mansion's haute Southwestern menu includes antelope, foie gras dumplings, and something called a lobster taco. My favorite dish by far was the lobster tartare, adorned with chopped chives. Was that my messy handiwork? Fortunately, the lights were low in the Mansion's elegant dining room, so it was too dark to tell.

While less relaxing than sunbathing in Maui, a kitchen vacation has its rewards, most important the discovery that while cooking well is taxing, eating well isn't. [BOX]

CULINARY HOT SPOTS

Want to test your skills in the kitchen? Here are some top restaurants located around the country where you can learn to get cooking. Most of these culinary vacation packages include accommodations, but some may require you to find your own room.

Mansion on Turtle Creek 214-559-2100 www.mansiononturtlecreek.com

L'Ecole des Chefs Cook with Thomas Keller, Georges Blanc, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and others. Prices start at $1,950. 610-469-2500 www.leschefs.com

Tribute After helping chef Yagihashi prepare his French/Asian-influenced dishes, those who like dining in the middle of the action can eat at the "Chef's Table." 248-848-9393 www.tribute-restaurant.com

The American Restaurant Kansas City husband-and-wife team Michael Smith and Debbie Gold turn out cuisine recognized by the James Beard Foundation as some of the best in the Midwest. 816-426-1133

Erna's Elderberry House Offers three-day programs, which include lunch and dinner, for $750. 559-683-6800 www.elderberryhouse.com

Trio For $250 a day, get up close and personal with Evanston, Ill., chef Shawn McClain and his innovative French/Japanese fare. 847-733-8746 www.trio-restaurant.com