Culinary Institute

[Melalvai]

Anyone know how to figure out what culinary institutes have the best reputations?

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has the cutest name.

I'm helping my daughter research where she might want to go to school and what she needs to do to get into the school she wants. She has plenty of time to choose, or to change her mind, she's only 14.

[Zen]

http://www.cookingschools101.com/

courtesy of Google

[shootingstar]

I'm helping my daughter research where she might want to go to school and what she needs to do to get into the school she wants. She has plenty of time to choose, or to change her mind, she's only 14.

Meanwhile between now and entering choice culinary school, you might get some great cooked /baked dishes from her? :p:D Should be fun to see her explore right now. Solves part of your Christmas/birthday present ideas for her...cooking books, etc.

My partner's son is a chef --he did take some courses though not at a culinary institute. At a college. (Our "colleges" in Canada tend to be more applied/technical fields.) After being at a fast food chain, 5-star hotel restaurant, 2 restaurants where he had full control/creativity as the lead and now has taken over a gastro pub's kitchen, where you get more than just chicken wings. Works for a catering company on the side also.

We always look forward to his visits when he cooks or visiting him to enjoy his cooking. Some awesome meals....apple pie with buttery delicate pastry, buffalo, etc. :)

[alpinerabbit]

CIA is not only cute, it's probably a very good school. They have a campus in the napa valley, I'd kill for that alone.
Anthony Bourdain went to it and although I've never tasted his cooking, I devoured his book "Kitchen confidential".

[redrhodie]

Johnson and Wales' culinary program has an excellent reputation.

http://www.jwu.edu/college.aspx?id=19510

[Zen]

I'm usually not one to brag but I'm a graduate of The Betty Crocker School.

[Pedal Wench]

Johnson and Wales' culinary program has an excellent reputation.

http://www.jwu.edu/college.aspx?id=19510

I had a friend who went through their program - she's an excellent chef. And, I grew up near the original CIA in Hyde Park - their reputation is legendary. Can't go wrong with either.

[smilingcat]

CIA, Johnson & Wales are both very good.
So are New England Culinary Academy/Institute??

And there is always LeCordonBleu. They've expanded their school from Paris and now has schools in US, Japan and elsewhere. No they didn't originate the CordonBleu chicken. It's the school Julia Child went, it was the story line in Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn. Loved that movie BTW...

for more information go to school listings (http://www.culinaryschools.org/us/)
and everything about cooking web site (www.chef2chef.net)

I haven't been on chef2chef for several years so I'm not sure what's on their forum. Mostly nice people and no flamers as far as I remember. You can really get involved in talking about the concept of "umai" :D and other interesting tid bits. Also tricks of the trade.


uggghhhhh!!! I'm trying to find the culinary school in SF. A place an acquaintance went and she said it was the best thing for her. They actually run a restaurant so you learn about running one as well. Learn about being a host/waiter/waitress/cook... Learn about the front of the house and the back of the house operation.

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What does your daughter want to learn?? Pastries and baking or cooking?? There are also other "tracts" available. More serious schools have hotel mgmt as well.

[NoNo]

I went to CIA for lunch last summer and was very impressed by the whole operation and atmosphere. As stated, Johnson and Wales is a pretty well-respected culinary school. My cousin went to Connecticut Culinary Institute. Not sure how he picked it, but I've been impressed with what he's learned. And because he chose the Italian track, he got to finish his training in Italy, which is a good deal in my book. Except that the restaurant he got placed in used him for slave labor. Minus that, it was a great opportunity:D

[smilingcat]

Well in any serious restaurant, you start as a prep then move up to being a line cook. And yes being a line cook is slavery!!

Not everyone gets to be a chef (top dawg)
sous chef (second top dawg. the one who actually keeps the place from falling apart)

at 14 she has some time... Have her help out in the kitchen with the prep work. Learn good solid knife handling skill will go a long way and will give you a head start.

[Melalvai]

Thanks for all the replies and links! This is very helpful.

[NoNo]

Well in any serious restaurant, you start as a prep then move up to being a line cook. And yes being a line cook is slavery!!

Not everyone gets to be a chef (top dawg)
sous chef (second top dawg. the one who actually keeps the place from falling apart)


No, this was beyond normal stuff. The school required x-amount of hours per week, and these guys paid no attention to that. It wasn't uncommon for him to work all day without a break, and some days were a good 14-16 hours. They would eat in front of him but never allow him to eat. He wasn't allowed to ask questions. From what he described, they could have been on Kitchen Nightmares, with spoiled food and really unsanitary conditions. They were supposed to provide housing, and gave him a tiny room with a bed with no sheets and a stained pillow. We sent a package with sheets and stuff and they stole it. Amazingly, when he got back to the States and reported them to the school, the package magically appeared!

[ehirsch83]

CIA is the top culinary school in the US.
It's degree will go much farther then Johnson and Wales in most culinary circles.

[Zen]

A good place to start might be high school. Many school systems have technical/trade institutes as a hs curriculum.

I took a night class at a local tech/cooking school/hs. The chefs, the facility and the food were all quite impressive.
A low cost/no cost way to get started.

[snapdragen]

uggghhhhh!!! I'm trying to find the culinary school in SF. A place an acquaintance went and she said it was the best thing for her. They actually run a restaurant so you learn about running one as well. Learn about being a host/waiter/waitress/cook... Learn about the front of the house and the back of the house operation.


http://www.chefs.edu/san-francisco/

A friend's son went there, then went to work on Maui. Last I heard he was going to Japan to apprentice with someone (can't remember the name!)

[shootingstar]

Does your daughter enjoy eating a wide range of food and cuisines at this time?

It might take awhile but this is very important for any aspiring chef so that they demonstrate real culinary passion, skill and creativity by understanding first taste, cooking properties of many types of fruits, veggies, meats, etc. --both common and unusual to North America.

It is interesting to watch the different chef reality contests on foodnetwork tv. Especially when they are faced with an ingredient that they've never eaten before, much less cooked with it.

I would argue heavily, that to invent/create your own quality, tasty fusion Asian-Western dishes cannot be done well unless one understands and has tried cooking for awhile at least one of the traditional Asian cuisines. Plus understanding French cooking technique. Otherwise one is just throwing together a dish that lacks soul /spark and proper integration of taste and ingredients.

[colby]

http://www.chefs.edu/san-francisco/

When a friend of mine did his research (granted, this was 10 years ago), it was CIA or California Culinary Academy for him, too.

[redrhodie]

We can't forget this one:
http://www.frenchculinary.com/

[newfsmith]

My boss's son went here http://www.iceculinary.com/career/students.shtml .
it was perfect for him. He was interested in Asian Fusion styles and went from there to Singapore, then Beijing, and Hong Kong. He is a star there, and has opened restaurants for Zuma and been executive chief in one of the top restaurants in Beijing. He is living his dream. Of course it didn't hurt that he had a write-up in "Food & Wine" while he was still a student.

[malkin]

Another thing to do now is help her develop her palate.

I love to watch Gordon Ramsey do blindfolded tests on his chefs when they can't tell if they're eating pork or lamb, pineapple or mango etc.

[lo123]

Johnson and Wales' culinary program has an excellent reputation.

http://www.jwu.edu/college.aspx?id=19510

I have a friend who went there. It's expensive, but an advantage is that if she gets in there and decides she doesn't want to go the chef route, you can study to become a dietitian. Said friend now works in some sort of breastfeeding advocacy role. She decided slaving in a kitchen wasnt' for her after her Junior year externships.

[bluebug32]

I live near the CIA in NY and it's damn good! My friend just graduated as a pastry chef. From what I've heard, it's a great school. We've had some amazing meals there. The Hudson Valley is a pretty nice college town, too. And the CIA's campus is gorgeous and right on the Hudson River.