Best Culinary School In USA - Where?

[Moxiefan]

Yeah, sorry to go on like that about that one crummy tour. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth as far as LCB goes... weakest link in the chain and all that, but I am certian that LCB as a whole, especially outside the U.S., is outstanding. I am sure, too, that other LCB affiliates are excellent, Scottsdale and Western spring to mind.

The point of that post really was about considering geography in considering a school...

Also, what are those floppy hats called? Is there a specific name for them? Where do they come from? Traditionally baking and pastry, perhaps? They can't be too far from tradition and propriety... the certainly aren't too far from the iconography of the chef, as our own cheftalk logo and this guy demonstrate. Anyone know?

Regards,
- P

[culinarian247]

I just called them Mushroom Toques. Unstarched tall toques are what they look like to me. I thought they were pastry hats at first.

[splm]

As far as Cordon Bleu goes, I can certainly vouch for the London programme - I just finished the Basic and Intermediate courses and I am starting the Superior course today, 10 weeks of 3.5 hour demos and 2.5 hour practicals each day - there are 6 students in my practical class and one chef. We spend more hands-on time in the kitchens in the 30 weeks than most students who are in a 2-3 year program.

We also have the option of working in the prep kitchens if we choose.

We do not, however, wear floppy berets! We wear little sailor-type hats, much like any kp would wear, and of course, only the chefs get the toques - when we receive a Grande Diplome (both cuisine and patisserie) we also get a paper toque to wear at graduation....

My only experience with CIA is that they were the "other" school in Poughkeepsie and we used to date the students and go eat in their restaurants...

As for the school tours, the London and Paris schools are not even open on a Saturday....why not tour the schools during the week when you can probably catch some students there?

I know the topic was US schools, but I agree with with culinarian247, LCB does not seem to be too popular in here, so I thought I might explain a bit more about it....In case anyone fancies London for their education.

[Bufano]

Hello future chefs of america,
I saw this thread and I want to give my two euros worth. I started out at a City College and thought that by doing so, I would learn enough and not owe for years to come. Well, I completed a semester and never made a single dish I would ever want to serve again. The food was quantity and the idea was to get it out fast so the cafeteria could open on time. I have to say the food we put out was not quality at all. I decided to go check out the CIA in New York and I was so very impressed with not only the professionalism but, the fact that they never tried to sell me....not even once! I scheduled tours and a shadow day and ate every meal on campus. I was blown away at the quality of the food in every respect. So, my dream school is now the school I will be going to and will be worth both arms and legs to me because they have everything I am looking for. I hope this helps you on your search. I have btw checked out several other schools including the CCA here in SF where I live and I can't get myself to go there.....same amount of money and much less to offer....I was not sold!

Good Luck!

[Bufano]

Hello again,
I also wanted to add to my previous post regarding the best schools. I think that by going to the school you are interested in and sitting in on classes (shadowing) you will be able to decide if it is right for you. I did it and it made a world of difference for me. I had spent several months researching and asking questions and decided I would go see it for myself since it was ultimately my investment (no parents) and my future career I had to worry about. I was able to see that at City College of SF I would not be making quality food even in the third semester because I saw what they were putting out. There is no real restaurant on campus which is also a turnoff, only a cafeteria and a dining area for teachers....not good experience for the real world. The jobs at school were few and far in between and I had to find my own gigs....which I did. Just a little inside scoop on what I experienced. Hopefully this will help you as I had several people give me advice as well.

Ciao.
Bufano

"Amici e vino devono essere vecchi"

[thrombus29]

Hello, new to the forum.

As a J&W Grad (89 A.O.S) (91 B.S) I think the thing that you have to look for is what you want do do when you are finished with the schooling. Before I had kids and got out of the fine-dining world I worked with egomaniacs from ALL schools. It depended on the type of person, not the training.

IMHO, the CIA is excellent cooking school without the emphasis in the business/money/instutional end that most of us will end up in. J&W is an excellent business school which teaches you how to cook.

I remember the first day at the instutional/cafeteria class when the chef told us that %70 will end up in that kind of setting, and everyone laughed because we were all going to be the next Escoffier.

Before you choose, take a realistic look at what you want to do 10 years after you graduate, and see if that is what the graduates of the school are doing.

[dspiel]

I believe that the best school for you depends on what you are interested in, for example, if your passion was for baking I would suggest the Art Institute of Los Angeles (Santa Monica) because Master Baker Rosier teaches their and not only is he a great instructor but there is a very limited amount of Master Bakers in the US (as well as around the world) and I felt very priviliged to be instructed by him.

[theloggg]

I sent a survey out a few years ago to chefs all over the country asking the same thing (because I was deciding on a school). the scenario I gave was "if you had to hire soley on school rep, with experience, grades, etc all being the same, what school would you hire from." I do not remember the exact %, but something like 80% said "the school did not matter." The remaining 20% where all scattered between 4-5 other schools.

logan

[chefbj14]

As a recent graduate of the CIA , i can tell you that the CIA attitude is rampant and is very contagious. It can be very difficult to keep a level head at the institute. Too many people pump you up with the idea that you are something special and that you should feel honored to even be attending class there. The students have forgotten how to be humble, they have forgotten that they are kitchen maggots and nothing more. i myself am currently peeling potatoes and picking spinach at a very fine italian restaurant, and am learning more from keeping my mouth shut then by trying to be involved in every conversation.

Whatever school you go to, i wish you the best of luck. Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and your ears open.

[Lumpia]

Wow, wonderful thread. I am amazed at the insights here. I had posted a thread about deciding between long term or short term in this forum, as I am currently deciding if I want to attend culinary school in 2003. One of the persons who directed me to search through this forum was very helpful in giving me key words to search for. I hope to find this thread very useful!

[paisan]

Hmmmm....best school..... well, there are many to choose from, depending on how long you want to spend and what kind of food you want to focus on. The CIA and J&W offer both degrees...J&W you can get a BOS in four and the CIA in just over three (they dont give you but two and a half weeks off in the summers) There is also Kumps restaurant school, the french culinary, and the NY restaurant school that have much shorter programs.

Oh... Thrombus....not sure if its changed since you looked into it, but the CIA's bachelors cirriculum does focus mainly on the business aspect of the industry, much of your time is spent in a classroom as opposed to kitchen learning how to run the place once you know how to cook in it.

And chefbj....strange name for someone to go by who peels potatoes....you didnt get bitten by the arrogance bug at the CIA did you???????

Ciao.....paisan

[jjasonwt]

I am in culinary school in St. Louis Community College of Forrest Park and it is a great place. I am getting an associates degree and a great foundation all for a little over 50 dollars a credit hour. I love it. The chefs are great (President regan and carters chef, the chef for the st. louis blues, chef from sweden, etc.) I think it is great. One disadvantage is I have to take the basic education classes to graduate.

[culinarian247]

Originally posted by Moxiefan

about this LCB thing... What's their deal, anyway? Is there an LCB in Paris, still? I thought it was London, Sydney and Ottowa, plus the miscelaneous American "affiliations." I visited one of those "affiliates" by the way, and was none too impressed... I visited on a Saturday Morning... the tourguide was quite late, the grounds were a mess, the kitchen was shut but lots of stuff hadn't been put away, and if it had been put away, it would have been put away in securely locked cages (who is the fiend trying to steal your gallon cans of crushed tomatoes, anyway?), and their dining room looked an awful lot like a hospital cafeteria and not at all like a real restaurant. Now, I've never met any of their graduates, who may be wonderful, talented people... Of course, that was another thing that cheesed my off about that tour... I DIDN'T MEET ANY OF THEIR GRADUATES, STUDENTS OR CHEFS, which seemed less than informative and I surely would have like to have done, and, of course, I DIDN'T EAT ANY OF THEIR FOOD. What's up with that?

Sorry, I've digressed. Maybe it was just an off day for a tour, and maybe I'll go back sometime and check it out again (just around the corner, after all), but, point of story: LCB, very suspicous in my books... or at least that one afiliate was, but then, what's the LCB selling its good name for anyway?
Just a thought.

You went to visit the Atlantic Culinary Academy, didn't you? Did you know the photos they use are of Scottsdale Culinary Institute students? Oh yeah. That's probably why the website doesn't show the front of their jackets. Now the curriculum is nice, but it's pretty much the same one as all the other "affiliate" schools. Don't let that one school put a sour taste on your palette (sp?) in regards to LCB or it's affiliate schools.