[Dasch]

Hi Everyone! My question in a nutshell is about the quality of culinary schools. Is there a huge amount of prestiege with a degree from the CIA, or would an AA degree from an "average" school suffice? Many community colleges in my area offer a culinary arts program, and one in particular gives good credentials, plus an easy transfer into a BA in the Culinary Arts (Cincinnati State of Ohio, if anyone was wondering) Obviously the Cinci. St. program offers a lot more than the local communtiy college, but do I really NEED the prestiege of a CIA degree, or would proven abilities on-the-job work better in my scenario?

(brief summary of skills) 4+ Yrs. Line cook, +1 year kitchen management, knife skills "so-so" and imagination and creativity are somewhere around the Food Network range...Not great, but interesting nevertheless.

(summary of goals) Learn/move up in a reputable kitchen, eventually open my own restaurant someday; nothing extravagant but still unique

Any good tips on education that can get me there? (And yes, I have read a bunch of forum posts about similar topics... seems to me that on-the-job trials prove more; but what about that degree? )

[foodpump]

A degree... In cooking....

I am proud of my trade, after all it's the "second oldest profession in the world". But-tum, ah...it's not a recognised trade in N.America. Plumbers, electricians, gas fitters, Doctors, Lawyers, these are all recognised trades and there are set standards for each trade to adhere to, material that must be learned. With cooking however there are no set standards, no set tests, no benchmarks, no organization. Every cooking School has a different curriculum, some as little as 4 mths, some as long as 2 yrs. Some schools call their graduates "Chef", some call their graduates "Culinarians" and some just call their graduates "culinary school graduates".

Because there is no Gov't regualtions, or even national-wide trade standards, every culinary school can do what they want to, and every degree, diploma, or otherwise piece of paper that the schools put out really doesn't have much meaning.

[Dasch]

Frankly, I agree. The ACF is the only industry certification-type program that I've found in the USA; and that's not entirely industry-wide, I think. And you are correct; one school offers students prerequisites for the "culinarian" cert. and other schools offering more.

I guess my question is regarding the education itself. As I am somewhat lacking in knife skills and kitchen chemistry... a "solid foundation" so to speak; would it make sense to study these in formal training?

In my job market (at least) the kitchens with a real chef in charge rarely need to use the classified ads. This trade seems to be more based around reputation than degrees earned. Wouldn't a decent education in this profession's skills get my foot in the door; so I can continue to build my reputation? ...Or do I just need to make some better culinary friends to help me out in the eventual job hunt?

[foodpump]

A Chef just isn't a cook, a Chef is a manager too. Once you 've got all the cooking skills, you'll need accounting skills, management skills, and "know-how" in dealing with the various Gov't agencies (health, Worker's comp, Labour baord, Tax guys). That being said therd ARE degress in accounting and business mngmt...

[foodpump]

Woops, got cut off there.

For biggest bang for your buck, look closely at CC's--Community Colleges, most of them offer some pretty decent courses. School is only as good as what you put in, there's no guarantee that what the student has been exposed to will stick, or that the student will apply what he/she has been exposed to.
Most Chefs and experienced (emphasis on experienced) F&B or HR people know this, and while a fancy culinary school diploma looks good on the resume, the real acid-test is the first 2 days on the job...