The Art Institute and The Restaurant School

I was accepted into an AI school, and enjoyed the interactions with the staff / teachers, but when I stated asking local chefs and restaurant owners what they thought... we'll just say that they weren't very impressed with the program. 

I want to ask you a couple questions, simply because I'm curious..

Why are you doing the 4 yr vs the 2yr degree? 

Are you trying to gear more towards kitchen work or FOH work?

If kitchen is your answer, have you spend times in the weeds in a kitchen before getting slammed with tickets, getting burned because you are trying to work a bit too quickly, but all while trying to maintain a cool head about the situation?

If you answered NO to the last question, the first thing you should do before every attending one single class, is get in a kitchen and get your ass kicked for a couple months, just to see if being on the line is what you really want. This was the advice given to me, and I'm just passing it along, if your passion is there and you love it, then you'll want more and more and more (and that's a good thing.) But if you just enjoy the idea of being a cook, it will be miserable, (and that's good too because you wont waste all your money and go in debt over something you dont want to do.)

Just my $.02 and feel free to answer in a pm if you dont want all your reasonings / answers on the open forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah Bering 

I wanted to get a 4yr degree b/c i want to own my own restaurant, that is my end goal and let's be honest a 4yr degree sounds pretty nice to an employer.

If you are basing the need for a four year degree on your goal of owning a restaurant, then, IMHO, skip the culinary schools and get a degree in Restaurant/Hospitality management. Running a restaurant involves FAR more than knowing how to cook!

As far as a four year degree sounding pretty nice to an employer, that is not always the case, especially in the BOH and FOH in the culinary world. Most of those employers are looking for production, not management. Production involves getting it done, management involves seeing to it that someone gets it done.

Reexamine your short and long term goals. Do you want to produce or manage?

If produce, do you have any experience in the BOH? If not, get some, even as a dishwasher or kitchen helper. After six months, if you still want to produce, think about some form of culinary training.

If at the end of six month, you decide you would rather manage, then think about business management, hospitality management and leave the producing to others.

Sarah !  I go with Pete,  only I go one further  . Go to business school and take a law course or two, as this is what you will need to own and operate a restaurant or anything else for that matter.  You can learn the cooking aspect on the job, but you can't learn the business side or legal side from the BOH.  I know very few Chefs that have a BS, I had to get one for teaching in New York, otherwise I would not have one either.  Asside from that I never had a boss even give a darn if I had a BS , they only wanted to know if I could cook, run a place, and make them money. I wish you good luck.  EJB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah Bering 

 

What school did you end up going to?

I actually ended up not going. The only culinary school remotely close is the Art Institute that I mentioned, and after talking to several chefs around the area, that particular campus wasn't good enough for me to justify spending the money on, so.. I got really lucky. I found a local chef that picked me up and gave me a job doing prep / pantry work, and still trying to teach me about x, y, and z as I went along. I recently was moved up to line cook, and obviously still learning, but that was the right move for me, it may not be the right move for everyone. For my personal situation, I was able to find a great job and make money while learning, instead of being 30grand in debt.