People want to learn about cooking for all kinds of reasons. Some want skills they somehow missed acquiring earlier; they want to be able to produce great meals at home. Others want avocational courses to hone their skills. Yet others are the kinds of folks who read cookbooks like novels and want hands-on experience. Some want a full culinary education so that they can pursue a career. This page describes some of the ways you can learn and where to find out more about them.
Despite the rhetoric of convenience-food and household-appliance companies, cooking can be a lot of fun. ("Drudgery" was a word chosen to manipulate readers into buying new products.) Cooking need not be drudgery and it can be a really creative release. Besides, where else can you get a hobby from an activity that is necessary to sustain you? What a great excuse! We all have days when there is barely time to think about dinner, let alone get it on the table, and those are the times when we all reach for convenient shortcuts. There is a lot of fun, however, in creating a great meal, and it often takes little time at all. The avocational cooking schools in your area are designed to make you comfortable with doing just that, along with helping you achieve skill at making more complicated food. You'll find some of them listed in the Suggested Reading section below.
One of the biggest problems home cooks face is coordination -- doing several things at once and timing them so that all the food comes to the table at the same time. Cooking programs teach you about this too and much more. Check your local Yellow Pages or look at some of the books listed below for suggestions of schools.
Professional culinary education takes many forms. In the years before culinary schools existed, except for a few schools in Europe, aspiring chefs apprenticed themselves to established chefs. In France this was done at the age of 14. Already an educational path was set; there were nowhere near as many choices as a person has today. You can still be an apprentice. The American Culinary Federation has an excellent program of certification for apprentices who work with qualified chefs. Check your local Chefs' Association or a sk a chef for details.
Most readers have heard about the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, with campuses at Hyde Park, New York and at Greystone in the Napa Valley of California. Other prestigious schools include Johnson & Wales, which originated in Providence, Rhode Island, but which has several campuses throughout the country, the New England Culinary Institute and the French Culinary Academy in New York City. But there are many excellent schools that aren't as well known, such the the culinary program at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky or Kendall College near Chicago. If you are serious about a professional career in food, shop wisely and thoroughly.
Other excellent opportunities are found in both private and public culinary progarms. Many community colleges and a great many vocational and technical schools have established culinary programs. They are great places to start.
Thompson/Peterson's Culinary Schools: This sizeable volume is reissued about every two years and continues to grow. It lists schools in the U.S. and Canada and abroad.
The Guide to Cooking Schoolspublished by Shaw Guides. This book is reissued annually and contains information about vocational and avocational cooking schools.
The Guide to Cookery Courses. This guide focuses on the British Isles and Europe. Both professional and nonprofessional courses are listed.
Food Work: Jobs in the Food Industry and How to Get Them. Written by the wise and knowledgable Barbara Sims-Bell, this book is a treasure for learning about all aspects of the food field.
Career Opportunities in the Food and Beverage Industry. Also by Barbara Sims-Bell, this guide gives additional information to Food Work, cited above.
A Guide to College Programs in Hospitality & Tourism. This book is published by The Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (known to the profession as CHRIE.
While the citations above are not complete, we've provided enough information
to allow you to find them.
e-mail: Webmaster
Return to bigarade home page.