Culinary Colleges
Choosing Culinary Colleges
If you are a student looking for the best education for a successful culinary career, you may ask questions such as:
1. What are the best culinary colleges out there?
2. What are the top culinary colleges around?
3. How do I really know if I am attending one of the top culinary colleges?
There are six key criteria that will help you to assess the quality of different culinary colleges and decide which college is right for you. The first is to choose from among those culinary colleges that will give you the greatest chance for success. You need to look for a college with a high graduation and employment rate, opportunities for long-term career success with attractive salaries, a large alumni network, and a strong industry reputation that provides access to national and international career opportunities, not just regional ones.
Second, choose culinary colleges that will emphasize hands-on, in-kitchen learning and real restaurant experiences. Seek out culinary colleges with a high number of teaching kitchen and in-kitchen instruction hours and a variety of first-class restaurants on campus. This way, they can provide you with professional training and outside work at leading restaurants, hotels, and resorts for real–world and industry connections.
Third, you should select from among culinary colleges with a large faculty of experienced, diverse, and accomplished chefs. You should look for faculty chefs who are Master Bakers, or Master Chefs as well as instructors who are Certified Hospitality Educators (CHE’s). This assures that the chef-instructors are effective teachers and diverse faculty members who actually teach and not just endorse the school. You should also look for culinary colleges with student/faculty ratios that provide individual mentoring and a published faculty and college.
Fourth, decide on culinary colleges that are accredited and that offer both Associate and Bachelor degrees. Try to find one with an Associate degree program that provides fundamental skills, techniques, and cuisine studies as well as culinary colleges offering Bachelor degree programs that teach the foundation as well as building operational and management knowledge.
As a fifth criterion, culinary colleges should also offer necessary campus community and access to career and cultural resources. Be sure the culinary colleges you select from offer a diverse student body with a variety of clubs, special events, and activities as well as attractive campus housing and access to a major city.
Finally, choose from among culinary colleges that have superior value and that are backed by a complete financial aid program. The culinary colleges you select from should have clear descriptions of tuition and other educational expenses as an indicator of institutional quality and integrity. In addition, these culinary colleges should offer a professional, experienced financial aid staff and should have available college scholarships with continuous financial aid support for each year of study.
