Culinary School ????

[chatham]

Hi Again,

Okay, so it's not just me who think sht eprice is a bit steep, that's comforting. I think that it's a pretty general tuition fee. All the schools have similiar pricing for their programs.

ShawtyCat....a good book to grab is the Peterson's Culinary School guide that I mentioned earlier. It names the schools across the country as well as their tuition costs, student/teacher ratio's, number of enrollees, number of professional instructors as well as certified instructors. etc. It's actually quite helpful.

Good luck to you guys with picking a program. I'm still searching for one that'll fit my budget/needs!

K

[ShawtyCat]

Well ....its not going to help me much since I have 3 kids (one a newborn) and Im going to be limited to NYC.

I can understand going for the 4,900 Techniques at FCI...but my hubby says I should go for the whole package ....the 9 months for 26k. Ah heck! Should I even be thinking about this now? Ive got a 2 year wait till my baby is in Pre school.

[holydiver]

Guys Peterson's guide is online at www.culinaryschools.com and chsck out Shawguideswhich isa much better site at www.shawguides.com look for the carrer schools link. And yes you are right comparable to other schools FCI and Kumps are much more expensive but you are being charged for the N.Y.C. experience and the connections. As for CIA it is up in the 40k plus range if you were not stuck to N.J. your options would be much more wide open like The Restaurant School in Philadelphia is only like 20k and is a very respected school I have worked with a couple of grads from there. But that said FCI and KUmps are very well respected schools who have produced James Beard winners and Food and Wine best new chefs so take the price with a grain of salt. I do not have a degree myself but grew up in the biz I have looked at going to FCI or Kumps my self I just think there are some holes in the programs like not enough pastry work and not really much management stuff which is what I want but they are still really good schools.

[ShawtyCat]

Hey Karin,

I know that Bergen Community College in Paramus offers a Culinary Arts Certificate and a degree in Hotel/Restauran/Hospitality.... 201-447-7192. Jodi

Edit: I found the info I was looking for. Can you take a look at this?

Bergen Community College - Culinary Arts Program Brochure Online

[chatham]

Hi Jodi,

I had checked out BCC last year actually and was not impressed. I sat in on one of the classes, I think it was Intro. to Baking. The professor (who happens to be the dean of the culinary program) was teaching and I got a very negative vibe from him. There were people in the class that had no idea what the heck they were doing and he was pretty much just standing there dictating. Don't get me worng, he wasn't rude but he just didn't seem very helpful or interested in what the students who neede help were doing. Maybe I hit it on the wrong day, as this is the only class I sat in on. Check it out if you're interested and let me know. The only other thing that I didn't like was that the program was too long for me to attend (AS degree or BS degree), it would take me 2-3 years to complete part-time. The scheduled classes coincided with my work schedule and it wasn't very felxible. I was really looking for a certificate/diploma program. Hey, this is just my opinion, don't let me discourage you or anyone else.

I'm actually checking into "The New School of Culinary Arts" right now. Looks like this one might be just what I need right now.

And BTW.....I never said congratulations on your new little boy! Good for you!!!

Future Karin

[ShawtyCat]

There is a certificate program.

Here is the list:

1. AAS Degree in Hotel/Restaurant/Hospitality (Hospitality Management) 2 yrs 64 credits

2. Certificate in Culinary Arts (1 yr) 35 credits

3. Certificate in Hospitality Management (1yr) 36 credits

4. Certificate of Achievement in Professional Cooking (1 yr) This is just the basics only. Just 18 credits.

Looks okay to me so far but then I haven't taken a trip over there yet. You think the professor got bored by the lack of participation and passion from his students?? If I go here Im planning on putting in 110% and I plan to pick my instructors brain. In NYC community colleges are called Party Schools because the students (some of them) have no motivation much less interest in actually studying. Im gonna check it out in September.

[chatham]

Hi Jodi,

I'm wondering if all these certificate programs are new. As of last year, when I spoke to the dean and check into the course and program the only thing offered to me was a degree program that I had mentioned.

As for the instructor not getting feedback from the students, it didn't seem that way. I being the bigmouth, inquisitive type, made alot of noise but then again, I was a visitor. Like I said, maybe it was just a bad day to go for a sit-in. I tend to ask too many questions sometimes so I try to bite my tongue once in a while.

Now that you've mentioned the certificate programs maybe I'll check those out as well. Hey, it's worth a shot I guess. Good luck to you. let me know how it goes if it goes.....

Karin

[Chef On The Go]

If you just want to be a Personal Chef (I've been one for almost 2 years now) my best advice would be to just take some classes at a community college. I wouldn't even join the USPCA because they are ridiculously over priced, and the only great thing you get from them is a decent discussion forum to ask questions.....which you can also get from here and Chef2Chef for free. Remember that as a personal chef, you are mainly cooking for families. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just nutritious.

Just hang out and be astute and ask tons of questions, and you'll learn everything you need to know. The hardest thing about being a personal chef is getting the word of mouth thing going. It's a real pain in the neck to market that type of service since it is so new.

I'd be happy to help you with any questions you may have about getting started up

[chatham]

Hi Chef On The Go,

Thanks for the tips. Actually I think I'm going to attend the New School in Manhattan for 5 weeks in January, just to get some education in there. I have a contact here of a friend's friend who has his own catering thing so I plan on speaking with him about helping him out nights and weekends just to get my feet wet. Thanks for the helpful info. The USPCA is quite costly but I figured it would help me with the business aspects of things, as well as pricing, recipes, menu creation etc. but I think I can do that stuff with a little help from people in the industry who won't charge me $2,000 for a weeks worth of b.s. I'm sure I'll be writing to you soon for some helpful hints!!

Thanks again!

Karin

[Chef On The Go]

No problem....I can even suggest a few books that will help you set up teh biz aspect.

I actually went to culinary school, and got my degree....and found that it wasn't really necessary for being a PC.

Also, I'd be very suspicious of any organization that asks for money before answering any questions.(There are several out there, including the one mentioned in my last post.

Knowledge is free if you know where to look, and you pester the **** out of people with questions.

Good Luck!!!

[chatham]

hello again Chef On The Go...thanks again for the reply. Let me just explain to you my dilemma and my plans. I am not a chef and have had no culinary training in my life. I'm an aspiring chef and wish to become a PC because that's the aspect of the Culinary industry that interests me most. I cok as a hobby but need to be educated more about cooking in general. That's why I was planning on going to school. I'm not in a position right now to go out and become a PC because I don't know enough about cooking, food, spices, recipes, baking, preserving, etc. This is why I'm going to take some classes to just gain some general knowledge. I don't know what meals will freeze well, what ingredients go with what etc. I'm basically just a novice. Any info. you could give me would definitely help. Thanks.

K

[Suzanne]

If this has already been mentioned, forgive me, but:

apparently ACF or IACP is now considering certifying Personal Chefs. I think that's great. There are many aspects of PCing that need to be formalized -- look at Catering and Inside Scoop boards for in-depth discussions of personal cheffing.

To summarize much of the info: being a success as a personal chef has less to do with your cooking abilities, but much more to do with your marketing and business planning/accounting capabilities.

[KyleW]

I'm a big fan of I.C.E, for a variety of reasons I am curious as to who gave you the run around?

I.C.E. offers a series of classes called Techniques of Fine Cooking. There are 3 levels and each is 5 sessions of 5 hours each. They are part of their recreational programs but actually mirror the first modules of the career program. you will learn the basics of classic french cooking. The run about $600 for each level and if you decide to enter the career program you can apply the money spent on the Techniques classes.

[rajeshshetty80]

hi friends...
i am rajesh shetty a 28 year old from india. i was not able to complete my final year of graduation and opted to join my fathers restaurant bussiness in india.After gaining 5 years of experience i decided to study culinary arts to enhance my knowledge. i joined a culinary school in india which offered a joint chef diploma in joint collaboration with a college in canada.i had completed my first semester in india and was suppose to complete the rest in canada But unfortunatly my visa was refused thrice.Now i would like to join a college in New Zealand or U.K . I would be really thankfull to you people,if you help me out in finding the best institute/schools in New Zealand and U.K .

with regards
rajesh shetty