Le Cordon Bleu vs. Community College

JrRamsey · #1 10-18-2007, 02:55 AM

Hey I know the big diffenece in price but i want to know is it worth it? I mean really i plan on being in the industry for the rest of my life, and I have been doing it for the past 6 years but not really getting nothing from were i worked but that i want to say in it. So i want to know if the chooseing of my school really makes a diffenece of is it just what i get out of the school that i choose? Please someone i have toke over a year to choose and i need some help ???? PLEASE!!!!

abefroman · #2 10-18-2007, 08:16 AM

I was wondering this too, is the ciriculum really that much different?

amanda1016 · #3 10-18-2007, 10:03 AM

I was in this place myself a few months back- I went the community college route. I obviously can't give you a comparison but I really do enjoy the CC. The prices are just right, the classes are not overly large. What's nice about the school I'm at is they are on a quarter based system-which works with my learning style, but also means they only offer our culinary classes during the fall and spring quarters.

Because I already have all my gen ed's I have class for nine weeks then have nine weeks off. I do however have private instruction once a week during those nine weeks. But this setup affords the husband and I to go out and do our vacation type things during the nine weeks that I don't have class M-F all day. It's worked for me. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

JrRamsey · #4 10-18-2007, 04:32 PM

Yea I know it is a lot cheapier and a diffenent class sch. but the schools are differnt the classes and the teachers. But what is the difference in the out come and what i will get out of it.

ChefSean · #5 10-18-2007, 04:35 PM

If you've been in the industry as a line cook for 6 years you might try looking for a top notch fine dining restaurant. Some have said that's a pretty good route and wouldn't cost much at all.

Every culinary school will teach you how to cook. They graduate cooks, not chefs. The key difference between a local CC and a "big name school" is, perhaps, the level of detail one gets in each class and the diversity of the education. Each will teach knife skills, prep, cooking. But will you see American, French, Asian, Middle Eastern cooking styles? Will you learn dining room operations? Will you learn a wide range of product and how to prepare or will you get "meat and potatoes?" Are the chef/instructors there to convey knowledge and passion of cooking (ie. their experiences and skills) or are they just getting a paycheck? Lots of other considerations.

In my search I am going for the schools that offer the widest education experience with the most experienced chefs. Each school is around for one purpose: making money. Given that, your money should be where the education is best. Some CC programs may rock in your area. In my area, there is a culinary school that costs about $50K. Up the road about five hours is the Culinary Institute of America for about $50K. Let me think here...

RAS1187 · #6 10-18-2007, 05:40 PM

I went to a LCB school, nothing distinguishable that I know of from a cheaper school.

We practiced knife cuts, made stocks, fabricated meat. All these basic skills you would be expected to learn any way, whether it be from a 50k LCB school or a cheaper program. My friend is going to a community college for 35k cheaper and learned the same things I did.

m brown · #7 10-18-2007, 06:42 PM

If you are serious about cooking, go to the big guns J&W,CIA, French Culinary, ICE.

If you are serious and a self starter with a nose for getting yourself to the next level, Community College is the way to go.

I am not a fan of the pricey- certificate granting- francise schools.

foodpump · #8 10-18-2007, 07:45 PM

What can YOU squeeze out of school? If you know most of the basic stuff, then the instructor lets you move up to a next level, you're a step ahead of the others--irregardless of which school you choose. If you're hitting the library and bookstores daily, hitting the commercial kitchen equipment stores, generally occupying yourself with everything cooking, then you're a step ahead of the others. Teachers tend to favour the prepared student, be prepared and squeeze as much as you can out of them.

Most big name schools have "open house" days. Check them out BEFORE you make your commitment: Are the instructors energetic, well informed? Do the students have atttitude problems, drug/alcohol problems, are they "parked" at the course because they come from a foreign country and a cooking program was the easist way to get a student visa?

JrRamsey · #9 10-19-2007, 04:48 AM

Thanks to everyone so i see like me everyone has different thoughts on it all. But i am in it for the long hual cook-chef-manager-owner. So i see it as a career and something i will be doing forever and love to do it. So i will keep my eyes open and try to make the right choice.

ChefSean · #10 10-19-2007, 03:59 PM

A few more thoughts:

* regardless of any admission requirements of the school, get yourself a good, solid six months work in a professional kitchen (i.e. not pizza hut or a burger shack). The experience will pay off dividends in culinary school with the experience. Or the experience will send you running from the kitchen to university to study a different career path. Many many many people do not have clue one what the professional kitchen is like as a work environment.

* never underestimate the value of apprenticeships or stages. some of the best cooks in the world learned by working beside a true genius in a working kitchen. Culinary school kitchens are best describe a akin to high school or college science labs, not true working kitchens. If your culinary school has a block of instruction in one of its campus kitchens, even better.

#11 10-23-2007, 05:50 AM

I am LCB graduate and i feel that there is a big difference between a community collage and a LCB school. Theopportunity and job placement is a lot easier when you recive a degree from a LCB school. Now i do agree that a degree will only take you so far, it really has to do with your drive and determination on how high you will go but i do feel that the knowledge and work ethic that you learn at LCB is higher then a community collage and that is why there is such a high price tag on those kind of schools. If it were up to me i would choose a LCB school

ChefTorrie · #12 10-23-2007, 04:15 PM

I am a Johnson and Wales Graduate. However many years ago it may have been...

but...

I am not going to sit here and tell you to go to a big name school, like J&W, CIA, or LCB, or to go to a local community college.

I would never give up the experience, and great time that I had at J&W.

However, I do think that you could have an awesome life changing experience at a local school.

One thing I will tell you, if you are going solely on learning cooking techniques, different cuisines, and styles of cooking, I would probably go to the Community College.
If you are interested in other nuances, such as front of the house, bar tending, hospitality, a bigger school is probably the way to go.

I have a BA in Culinary and International Cuisine, and an Associates in Baking and Pastry arts, and also studied Hospitality and Management.

I cant stress enough, it is all what you put into it.
You can have a fine career after attending a big school.
and
You can have a fine career after attending a local school.

Again, dont take my words to heart. Its just my opinion and Im just trying to give the best advice possible.

ChefTorrie · #13 10-23-2007, 04:18 PM

Another thing I forgot to add...

Please do not think that after WHATEVER school you graduate from, that just because you hold that diploma, and that degree, that you can run a line, or run a kitchen. And do NOT think that the Degree, makes you a chef. I have seen too many good young cooks, go under because of ego. Dont make the same mistake.

Well anyways... Cheers!

ChefSean · #14 10-25-2007, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChefTorrie

Please do not think that after WHATEVER school you graduate from, that just because you hold that diploma, and that degree, that you can run a line, or run a kitchen. And do NOT think that the Degree, makes you a chef. I have seen too many good young cooks, go under because of ego. Dont make the same mistake.

Well said! Too many people today equate cook with chef. One does not the other make. There are just as many examples of cooks who cannot lead as there are chefs who cannot cook. As I've said on a few occasions, no matter the school you're graduated as a cook. "Chef" means leader and being a leader requires experience over and above the skills taught at school.

Personally, I blame the media and the TV Food Network for the blurring of cook and chef, but that's a whole different story!

ChefTorrie · #15 10-25-2007, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChefSean

Well said! Too many people today equate cook with chef. One does not the other make. There are just as many examples of cooks who cannot lead as there are chefs who cannot cook. As I've said on a few occasions, no matter the school you're graduated as a cook. "Chef" means leader and being a leader requires experience over and above the skills taught at school.

Personally, I blame the media and the TV Food Network for the blurring of cook and chef, but that's a whole different story!

Thank You, and well put yourself.