Should you go to culinary arts school?

Since I love the culinary arts so much I thought it would be a great topic to talk about the top culinary art schools. If your serious about being a top chef in the industry you may consider taking this route.

I worked in the industry for many years. It was about seventeen years to be exact. To be honest with you, I didn't get very far just working in the corporate restaurants I was working in.

I mean, I worked long hours and had way more responsibilities than I should have for the amount of money I was making. It was all I knew though, so I did it day in and day out. One day, after working in a small restaurant for several months with no chef, I decide it was time for a change.

I decided maybe I needed to go to one of the top culinary art schools. Just so happens I had one here where I lived in Georgia. Now, it was new at he time, but carried the legendary name Le Cordon Bleu.

It still hasn't achieved one of the top culinary art schools status, but I learned a ton. You would be surprised at how many people didn't even know how to boil water. There is a lot of different degrees of cooks there.

The industry is such a rapid growing industry that I say going to the top culinary art schools would definitely help speed things up a bit. Now don't be confused.

This decision will not put you at the top of the playing field to be a great chef. You will have to work your way up. It will help you master the kitchen a bit easier though.

The best thing you can do outside of culinary school is to position yourself in a restaurant with a great chef who has a lot of passion for the culinary arts and will teach you.

Not to discourage you, it is hard. There are to many kitchen managers out there and not enough chefs that have the passion or knowledge to get you there. Try smaller more independent types of restaurants.

Top culinary art schools can also help people who are passionate about cooking at home as well. It is not just for the restaurant chef.

Here is a list of some of the top culinary art schools in the U.S.:

Institute of Culinary Education (NYC)

Texas Culinary Academy

California Culinary Academy (San Francisco)

The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Washington

Culinary Institute at Hyde Park NY

That is the top five in the U.S. and there are tons more. I strongly suggest that the serious cook (even the home cook) check into it. It was great for me!