On the other hand... I notice a lot of negative comments about LCB... I am surprised because I hear a lot of good things about LCB too and I took a tour of their campus last year and it seemed like an excellent school for me. I hear chefs brag about being from LCB and I also hear a lot of big names came from LCB. Can someone please tell me what is so bad about it? Thanks.
My issues with LCB are:
1) Recruitment officers/agents. These are the guys who tell you you'll make 60 grand p.a. if you just sign on the dotted line. If you don't they will not stop calling you, e-mailing you, snail -maling you, etc. until you either sign, or call the cops. I'm not B.S.ing here either. The recruitment boys always earn more (in salary and consignment) than the top Chef Instructor.
2) Degrees. Mind you I've only got a gr 12 and an apprentice's trade papers, so I may not know all about education. It's my gut feeling that "degrees" are not offered for trades, and that only Universities--NOT colleges offer degrees. I believe a University offers courses which are respected and taken at face value at other Universities around the world--Colleges do not.
3) The abuse of the word/title "Chef" A cook and a Chef are
not interchangeable. Without going into too much detail (and arguement,
-A "cook" is judged by how well they cook
-A "Chef" is judged by how well they manage their resources.
Everybody in LCB is a Chef, the students, the instructors, the graduates. Doesn't sit right with me.
But mainly,
4) The course cost. What are they asking for it now? 30 grand?
-The reality of it is,
with no previous kitchen experience prior to enrolling, a freshly minted LCB grad will earn ....(drum roll please) ...Minimum wage. Awfully hard to pay back student loans or to earn a living on minimum. The schools know this, and they don't give a rat's posterior about it.
Work wherever you can, watch, learn, listen, and it doesn't matter if it's red lobster or not.
Plant herbs, they're virtually free, libraries are free, bookstores are too, websites are free, and lots of info out there too.
You need both book knowlege and practical knowledge, neither one out-trumps the other.
But work in a few places first to make absolutely sure you want this.