Culinary School Search

Since the days of the Iron Chef, many would be kitchen concocters have been fascinated by the art of cooking. Television and cooking have had a long and fruitful relationship, from the relaxed preparation of Julia Childs to the more manic and catchphrase worthy efforts of Emeril Lagasse and everyone in between. Unfortunately for many who viewed these shows as an inspiration for entering the profession, television hasn’t offered a program that showed the true realities of life in a real restaurant environment…until lately.

The first reality television series to adequately portray the realities of the restaurant business was NBC’s The Restaurant, which featured Manhattan celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and the opening (and eventual closing) of his restaurant Rocco’s 22nd Street. The show offered an inside glimpse into the process of restaurant management and showed several hectic scenes of life in the kitchen. While it didn’t give a completely accurate picture of what chefs and food preparers go through on a regular basis, it did offer insight that no other program before it made available.

In the 2005 to 2006 television season, the Fox network began a new series devoted strictly to life in the kitchen. Chef Gordon Ramsay, a former soccer player turned world renowned chef hosted the show, which featured 12 contestants all vying for a coveted position as a head chef in a 5 star restaurant. While the show was certainly “made for television” in the sense that it was far more intense than a real culinary environment, it offered the best glimpse thus far into the daily occurrences that can, and often do, happen in the kitchens of fine dining establishments. The show merited enough audience share to be renewed for a second season, which begins in the summer of 2007.

The public prominence of shows such as these has created interest among fans, not only for the participants of the programs, but for the field of culinary arts. Internet searches for culinary programs, culinary degrees, culinary schools and several other related terms have increased several percentage points since 2003, according to Google Trends, which tracks search results worldwide. Enrollment in culinary training programs has risen substantially as well. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the culinary field is expected to reach 12 million employees by 2006, many of which will work in the fine dining industry, although not all in food preparation.

I would like to be a chef but I am having a hard time choosing what school I would like to go to. There is a tech school close to me, but I am afraid I will have a harder time getting a job as a chef after graduation. I have researched La Cordon Blue and Art Institues. Those schools would require me to move to attend. I would like to go to an acredited school that will launch my chef career. Do you have any ideas or personal opinions? Any feedback will help, and thank you.

I'm am about to graduate from a the culinary program at one of the Art Institutes. I wouldn't really recommend it to you. There are better schools than the one I go to. Look into The Culinary Institute of America, or Johnson and Wales. The only "real" Le Cordon Bleu school is in France. The "Le Cordon Bleu" schools in the US are basically just using the name.

I wish I had done more research before choosing a culinary school, because I would probably have picked a different one.

I recently visited my sister in Atlanta GA, and Ive had an interest in a career in culinary for a while. So while I was down there I took interest and a tour of the Art Institute for Culinary and a Le Cordon Bleu location. I have to say I prefer Le Cordon Bleu since they are 100% devoted to just culinary arts; but word of mouth tells me that the CIA is the best, yet, most expensive school? I wish to become a master chef and one day chef/owner of my own restaurant and I'm looking for the best and most rewarding degree. I'm currently living in Rochester NY, which is upstate NY so either way I'd have to move to go to school but I'm trying to make the best choice here before I make such a big decision to move and whatnot. Any suggestions, my advice so far was to ask people in the field.

The New England Culinary Institute is the best by far. It is in Montpelier,Vt and is great. They can be a bit expensive but well worth it. Check them out if you haven't already. http://www.neci.edu/

Is this a program suitable for a complete beginner or should I have experience as a chef first? Should I attend related classes at a community college first, perhaps? What are the tuition costs? I'd appreciate as much information as you can provide.

It wouldn't hurt to call the school and talk to a student counselor.
As high as the tuition is, I wouldn't be out any cost for additional classes. Ive had some family members pursue this, and they went straight to the school. The tuition is very costly.
After you get in, then pursue a restaurant position, it would look very nice on your resume.
Good Luck to you.

$60,000 for 2 years?
My sister is enrolled in the Art Institute of Colorado in Denver (she starts next year).
My dad just called me and said how my parents are spending their retirement to send her there.
Anyways, is there any cheaper way to learn the culinary arts? Why does it cost so much money, and how much does one make after attending one of these schools?
I think she will still go there, but she is a brat. She’s failed out of college twice…almost failed out of high school due to partying.
It is really none of my business, which is why I’m asking on here instead of asking my sister/parents directly.

The tuition to the Arts school may provide supplies (which are very expensive), lab fees for all the hands-on classes, instructor’s fees/salaries, small class size (more one on one instruction), etc. The money she will make after she graduates depends on who she works for. Most culinary students must apprentice first for little or no money just to gain experience.

i dont have a lot of experience of cooking except for cracking eggs, boiling water, making a sandwich and stuff. how good do u have to be at cooking to go there or does it matter?

well most culinary schools require that you have kitchen experience before hand. They dont expect you to be good because that defeats the purpose of going there. But you need to prove that you worked in a kitchen and that you learned some skills. But check the schools websites for applicant requirements. Your ability to cook does not matter so much because they will teach you a lot during your mentorship and schooling.