[rishabh]

HELLO,
IM RISHABH RUSTAGI FROM INDIA AND MY AIM IS TO BE A HEAD CHEF AT A 3 MICHELLIN STAR RESTAURANT( I KNOW ITS A LONG ROAD) AND FOR THAT I NEED TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT UNIVERSITY.
IM CONFUSED BETWEEN CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA(NEWYORK) , INSTITUTE OF CULINARY EDUCATION (NEWYORK), AND LE CORDON BLEU (PARIS).
IF I CHOOSE LE CORDON BLEU, I WILL GO FOR GRANDE DIPLOMA COURSE.
SO PLEASE HELP ME AS I DONT KNOW WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE.

 

[flipflopgirl]

Firstly you have come to a very good site with manymany threads re cooking schools.
Use the Chef Talk search feature and read thru the archives.
I remember there being at least one collection of postings (journal format) by a member who shared his experiences (cannot recall what school) as he completed his degree.

After studying as much as you can online then visit the ones that made your short list.
Pay particular attention to the location as this may or may not be a good fit lifestyle wise.
IME it is hard to be happy and focused on school if the living conditions make you miserable.

Good luck finding your path!
mimi

 

[markos sdranis]

If money is not an issue then le cordon bleu in paris is an excellent choice. The difference between le cordon bleu and most other good culinary schools, is that you WILL get all your knife cuts near perfect as things get measured, with a ruler. You will get to work with many chickens, so you WILL learn how to break it down, and so on. In a good school that's not le cordon bleu, you will be shown how to do things, but you will have to put a lot of time and effort on your own.

So, my opinion is, if money is not an issue, go to le cordon bleu.

 

[Iceman]

The CIA is the best. All the others suck. If you're not going to the CIA then save your money and pick a nice Community College.

 

[dueh]

Money aside, and no matter what school you chose, I believe that you will get out what you put in. If you only do the minimum requirements you will get minimum results. It does not matter if you went to CIA, or Le cordon Bleu.

For example. I went to a small community college with a good culinary program. They gave up potatoes to cut to practice our classic cuts while in class. I could easily tell the next class who went home and practiced and who did not.

Culinary school is there to teach the basics, and give YOU a solid foundation to BUILD on. I was working in the industry while i went to school and had a Chef who told me the same thing 'you get out what you put in,' which changed the way i approached the entire program.

 

[ChefTeddyB]

I would say get a job at your favorite restaurant work there for a year then if you still want to pursue being a chef, move to France and just work your way up and through. School is really expensive and the probability of you making enough money in the industry to pay it back in a reasonable amount of time is slim.

 

[chefross]

The CIA is the best. All the others suck. If you're not going to the CIA then save your money and pick a nice Community College.

Ahhhhhh.......iceman, however much I share your enthusiasm for plugging the CIA, any school, no matter which one, depends on the person not the institution. I have met and worked with too many primadonna know nothings that graduated from the CIA who couldn't boil an egg.

 

[foodpump]

I dunno... What is "best". Sure C.I.A. Is a great school, and has produced some wonderful talent. Then again what is the cost compared to a c.c.? $200,000 vs $30,000?

What you NEED to know is this:
A) If you go into a culinary school---any culinary school with no previous kitchen experience, you will graduate with no work experience.
and
B) Employers look at your work experience first, culinary school is way down the list.
and
C) Your first job out of culinary school- assuming you have no previous work experience will be minimum wage or maybe a few dollars over. Very few can balance student loans, rent, cost of transportation and bare essentials on minimum wage--assuming of course you have a steady 40hr/ or more work .

So, really, what is "best"?????

 

[Iceman]

Get your facts correct.

Tuition and fees at Culinary Institute of America are $29,250 without financial aid. With room, board, and other fees combined, total cost of attendance is $44,695.

 

[LaCheshireChat]

If you want to work here in France, either go le Grand Diplôme or Bac+2 : BTS hôtellerie-restauration. You will need a diploma to work in industry here, simple experience doesn't cut it. (Unless you want to go the Validation of Experience route which takes nearly as much time and fal-der-all as a CAP.)
Personally, I would go for the BTS/apprentissage route as you'd be not only learning but working at the same time, which is great for your future CV!
Best of luck!