Need opinion on culinary school

[ccenteno]

Has any one heard of the Kitchen Academy? The schools about 2yrs. old. It started in Hollywood Ca., and now there are building one near me in Sacramento, CA.

Thanks,

[Mezzaluna]

Hello ccenteno- you posted this in the Welcome Forum. We have a forum just for culinary school questions, so I'm moving your query there.

Mezzaluna

[Greg]

Other than having heard the name, I don't know any specifics about this school, but here's my general impression.

While it is significantly cheaper than attending an associates degree program, it's also a much shorter program. Apparently, they've done that by cutting out any academics. In short, they'll teach you what you need to become a cook, but not what you'll need to become a chef further down the road. At the least, they should have a food safety class; it's irresponsible not to. I'm also unsure how much they'll teach you about the "why's" in cooking as opposed to the "how's". It's important to know how to braise, for example, but it's also important to know what's going on when you braise.

You could do something similar by going through the ACF apprenticeship program, or just learning on the job. Both of these options will actually put money in your pocket instead of costing you $19K.

[BearBoxer]

Sometimes it's good to attend a great school. I took classes at the CIA in New York to further my education. Before that, I learned quite a bit from great chefs from all over the USA. The best schools in my book are the CIA, Johnson & Wales, and The New England Culinary Institute. They are the Ivy League schools. The small institutes will teach you the basics and it's what you do afterwards that can make the difference. It's also helpful if you can work in a place that has a decent chef and he/she can teach you many things for free. I learned from the school of hard knocks and eventually became a CWC after a few years. Go for it!

John Kowalski

[Jayme]

CC-
I live in Sac, and I too have heard all the TV ads for that place. I personally attend Napoli Culinary Academy on Fulton Ave.. I believe there are the following choices in our area-
Napoli- it is a small, more casual program, hours are 9:30am- 2pm- although it is somewhat flexible, it's a 900 hours program, approx 9 mos., about $10K, Culinary Management- meaning you can become Head Chef, Kitchen Manager, or open your own restaurant

Culinary Institute- Roseville, this is a culinary training program, meaning Exec Chef. They have a day and eve programs- 8am-1pm, or 5pm-10pm, also about 900 hours, 9 mos., about $10K also.

San Juan Adult Ed- south Sac., culinary training, 9 mos, 7 am- 1pm, about $3-4K.

American River College, off Madison Ave.- least expensive, esp if you qualify for fee waivers, class schedule varies by semester, they also have some evening classes; culinary training and they also have a pastry certificate available. Check their website- Los Rios College District.

And I guess now the Culinary Kitchen....which sounds like a culinary program from the ads. or you could head to SF for the Culinary Institute- I believe they are close to $40K ??
Sorry for info overload..... I just spent my summer doing the research and started at Napoli in Sept. I would say to call and/or visit each school and see which seems to work best for you. Some are very rigid and some are not- ask to visit a class and/or lab.Some have set program start dates, some are rotating (set semesters vs. you can join anytime) I went with the one I did because I needed the flexible schedule ( I have a family and a family owned business to run- I attend Culinary school only part time right now), and I like the small personalized program, even though it is rather expensive. But I'm sure it wouldn't work for some people. Plus I wanted the management as well as chef training. Some places give one OR the other, but not both. Good luck! If I can help anymore- drop me a message directly.

[felixe the dog]

Kitchen academy, isn't that Iron chef??
Hang on that's kitchen stadium.

[sierra11b]

Figured I'd bump this seeing how I graduated from IT culinary school in Roseville.

The program was shorter than most bigger name schools but was also very intense to boot. Of the 16 that started in my class 9 graduated. Not all of those were drops but most were. One switched to the evening class and three others were recycled because they failed to pass tests to advance to the next level.

Like anything in life you get back what you put in. Because it's an intense course, if you miss a day of class you miss a lot. I applied myself fully and walked away with what felt like a ton of knowledge, enough to feel comfortable in a working kitchen and then some. I did not miss one day of class either. They have a required externship program that can get you hired. I got hired immediately after my externship time expired. Yes, you have to seek an externship but they really help you a lot. The turn-over rate for externship employment is remarkably high.

The chef instructors are very informative, formal in their approach and behavior, but very personable as well. I’m good friends with two of them now. Actually going to drop off some frozen pheasants to one of them next week. The course also includes your ServeSafe certification which is applied through out the entire course, especially during testing.

The best part is that they're getting ready to offer a graduate program for past students that I'm hoping to take down the road. The dean of the school called me last month telling me that it'll be an entirely separate set of courses designed for graduates and those that have been in the industry for some time. The emphasis will be on wine, advanced presentations, hospitality, etc. I can imagine that getting into that class upon graduation would not only further your education but put you into a much better learning environment as you’d be with those wanting to better themselves even more.

If you want to talk about IT Roseville PM me and i'll give you my number.

[Cooky2]

<<<<<You could do something similar by going through the ACF apprenticeship program, or just learning on the job. Both of these options will actually put money in your pocket instead of costing you $19K.>>>>[/quote]


Hi GREG!
Would you please tell me more about the ACF apprenticeship. What ACF stands for? Is it available here in Salt Lake City, Utah where I live?

Thanks so much in advance!!