Just visited CambridgeSCA, any opinions???

[jeffk8900]

Hi All,
I just got back from visiting the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. I am possibly moving to the Boston area and am thinking about switching to a career in the culinary arts. I have previously posted that I am finishing my Ph.D. thesis this May and I am getting down to the time I have to make a decision....
Thanks all.

You found me! Anyway, what'd you think of the school? PK and FCI want me. Now I have to decide on which one. Do you or anybody for that matter have an opinion on either school? I read your other posts. The culinary industry is very broad, you don't have to be behind the line. I'll call ya later. Hasta

[ 02-13-2001: Message edited by: bookof5spheres ]

Hello JeffK
I have three-times been to visit the CSCA because I live quite nearby. I found the staff to be friendly and the kitchens to be well-equipped and clean. I audited a class and the atmosphere was warm & studious. The classes are small. I have spoken to chefs that I know in the Cambridge / Boston area and they all assured me that they would happily hire a graduate of CSCA.

But I chose NOT to attend for a few reasons;
First, they are very expensive.
Second, (and this was the biggie) they are not an accredited school, which means no scholarships or financial aid and no transfering credits.
Third, they have been trying to become accredited since at or before my first visit back around 1994. I don't know how long this process takes, but I got the feeling they were strining me along.

I couldn't wait to begin learning. I will be going to Johnson & Wales in Providence this year.

Good luck on your decision!
(and good luck finding an affordable place to live around here!)

[kutlass]

the CambridgeSCA is no good. you will lose your money because when you find out what the school is like you will want a refund and you probably will not get it back like myself. Believe me i have been there i took the course and did not finish. Biggest waste of time. the school blows. all the students are not taught the same things in class and when cooking tests come up you are lost. i know about cooking went to a tech high school

[ALynch]

That is some pretty harsh things to say about a school, why did you not finish?, did you not commit yourself?. If you are lost, isn't it your responsibly to seek understanding before test time? And if this high school program gave you the knowledge to decide rather or not a school should be shut down, why do you need to go to school?

I apologize for the rant.

Andrew - Freshman
Johnson and Wales University - Miami

[kutlass]

at cambridge sca every student should be taught what the subject is about. say if it is on fish all the students should be doing fish. not just one. not one doing salad and the next doing drinks,or the other student doing pastries. that is the way students are taught there. , if the others are not shown the subjects like how to poach fish, braising, and many other things. the other students are left in the dark except one. If you pay 15,000 or any amount of money you should be taught. not just one. say you have to do a veloute sauce and poach the seafood. for a test and you have no idea how to do either one. because you were never shown how to do either.and get a bad grade.that is because of bad teaching skills. there are books but a book only show just so much like it say skim scum. if you do not know what to skim how do you skim it. because they cheat the others students out of an education. and no someone should have to go home and try to do it at home and practice at home if you are paying someone to teach you

and you do not know what the tests are going to be on


and the thing about the tech high school is that i was bitten by the culinary bug. and wanted to to further my education by going to csca and i was wrong for picking that school.

the school i go to now teaches all the students in the class the same subject

[Moxiefan]

Kutlass,

I wouldn't trash the whole school on that one point. NECI, where I am, is pretty fragmented, too, and its because when we're in class, we're actually in service. If there's no flatfish on the menu when I'm in fish kitchen, I won't learn flatfish, or, if nobody is ordering entrees while I'm on broiler roation through the hot line, I'm kind of losing out. But that's reality, and as long as the broad strokes are all in place and I keep my eyes open, I'm going to be fine when I find myself slammed behind the broiler. That's really one of those things that you have to decide what's right for you.

About this cambridge school of culinary arts, though, I have some doubts. I don't beleive they're acredited, for one, a fatal flaw that is in no way reflected in the price of their education. If I'm going to spend the money on a degree, I want it to be from someplace that's going to be recognized outside the Boston metro region, if not because its a good name, then at least because its got all its i's dotted and t's crossed. I would check that out, and if they aren't acredited by a couple of boards, I would stay away.

regards,
P

[kutlass]

the school i'm in does everything if you do not learn it on that day they have study hall so you do not miss out on anything