How to Find the Best Culinary Schools

Thanks to many new reality television shows such as 'Hell's Kitchen' and 'Top Chef,' more and more students are enrolling in culinary schools. These new culinary students are often surprised though at how difficult it is to become an award winning chef. The best culinary schools will prepare students for many roles, so if you are considering a career in the culinary field, then there are some things that you absolutely must know before beginning. It is not always the glitter and glamour portrayed on screen.

You can count on culinary schools, such as the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, as being one of the best in the country. The goal of Le Cordon Bleu is to teach you everything you need to know about running a kitchen and a restaurant. After all, there is more to a restaurant than just cooking. You must know how to deal with customers, the accounting books and know how to keep up with inventory.

Most schools offer a two year or four year degree in culinary arts. Of course, the basics of cooking are taught the first semester but many instructors expect new students to at least know some of the basics, such as knife handling and proper hand sanitation. They do have classes expressly for this purpose but knowing at least the basics is vitally important to succeeding in class. A top notch culinary school will teach you more than just the basics.

Peterson's Culinary Schools Guide Cooking Schools 2005
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How to Find the Best Culinary Schools At the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School there is a rigorous class schedule. Most students attend full time and devote their entire lives to studying under the award winning instructors at this prestigious school. It is, after all, one of the top schools in the entire world. There you will learn the rudimentary basics of kitchen preparation, as well as how to prepare specialty dishes. These dishes are considered by most chefs to be the essential dishes that are served at most restaurants and include recipes, such as hand made pasta, breads and other standards.

If you are planning to attend one of the top culinary schools found in the country, then it is advisable for you to devote yourself whole heartedly to attending classes. This should not be a decision taken lightly because it will involve most of your time. You will also need to practice, practice and practice at making some of the dishes at home, if you expect to succeed. It may be hard but the benefits are truly rewarding when you have your own name called at graduation.

Hors d'Oeuvre at Home with The Culinary Institute of America
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Review (rating: 5):
Really great recipes in this cookbook. Reliable CIA always gives great recipes, with a unique flair. Should buy this to have in your cookbook collection. Prices on Amazon much cheaper than going to the CIA website!

In the Hands of a Chef: The Professional Chef's Guide to Essential Kitchen To...
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this is an excellent reference guide on kitchen tools for culinary students and future chefs

Techniques of Healthy Cooking, Professional Edition
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Review (rating: 4):
This volume is targeted for the advanced home or professional chef that needs a readily accessible source of current information on nutrition, ingredients, and preparation. As such, it succeeds well with discussions of dietary content and balance and how those needs can be met with appropriate preparation techniques and portioning. The later part of the book is filled with "example" recipes, ones that can easily be prepared and serve to illustrate how the ideas of the discussion can be implemented in dishes that appeal to a wide audience. Many tables summarize useful reference information on topics including ingredients, cooking, storage, portioning, and conversions.

The sections on "health claims" are interesting for the consumer, and essential for the professional. It lights up a bit of the legal-ese behind what menus and packaging can and can't say, at least here in the US.

The recipes are generally reproducible by a home cook with a knowledge of cooking techniques and terminology, though are not a step-by-step as, for example, Cooks' Illustrated instructions. The dishes have been generally flavorful and enjoyable.

If you're looking for the latest fad in "health food" cooking, this isn't your book, as the Shraders point out.

"Techniques of Healthy Cooking" provides sound, well supported information on nutrition, ingredients, preparation, and portioning in a very accessible format, along with enough interesting recipes to make it a strong addition to culinary collection.

(4 stars instead of 5 only as its a little pricey compared to other cookbooks)