Maybe you’ve got what it takes to play with the folks at the top…

The Hobbyist… 

Homemade pies, cookies, and tacos for the family.  Tried and true recipes handed down through the years, mother to daughter. These are great ways to prepare food, and very rewarding for the cook.  Tons of resources are available for free online, more recipes than can be counted, online cook books, blogs with every shred of information one could want.  Great for those of us that just love to cook in general, but have a real life out side the kitchen, with families and careers.  For the aspiring amateur, cooking clubs and farmers markets are all that is needed to put us in a heaven all our own.  The best advice for people in this category is fresh fresh fresh!  There is a big difference, for example, in pre

frozen meat and flesh that has never been frozen before, or in vegetables picked and shipped locally, over ones shipped from out of the country.  It is amazing to me how may cooks overlook this simple fact, but no matter what you are preparing, without exception fresh is always better.  Also, I love things that are in season, it insures, if nothing else, a great variety in your diet year round.  Nothing frustrates the pleasure chef worse than cooking the same five dishes week after week.  So get out there, try some great dishes, (and some not so great ones).  Take advantage of all these great free resources online and maybe even discover a passion that propels you to…

The Enthusiast…

Culinary enthusiasts with a day job but a serious passion for cooking will want more than a few regurgitated recipes and tattered old pans.  We want real food, new food, exciting possibilities and a recipe or two that will blow minds and win hearts.   Wanting to try ever new and exciting possibilities, pushing foreword and drinking up the knowledge they come across-.  We want more than the endless maze of untested, random recipes the internet has to offer, we want hands on experience we can sink our teeth into.  For people who are this deep into the cooking fervor, they will find local classes, clubs, and maybe even a job cooking in a steak house if they are devoted.  All are great physical ways to get better at cooking and pursue the passion.  I recommend a start at the local community college, and a bite into ethnic foods.  Anything you find interest in will do, just get outside your comfort zone and try some new things.  Community collage is inexpensive, easy to get into, will have tons of time slots available, and will have a variety of different culinary options for you to try out.  If you enjoy your play time there, and you truly have a passion to be one of the best,( and the steakhouse job isn’t cutting it.) you can move on to the bottom rung of the top ladder.  A bona fide, for real Culinary Arts School.

 Culinary Artist…

If your insatiable appetite for other people’s appetites can not be satisfied with casual encounters at your local community college and nightly flings cooking at your local steak house, consider culinary school.  A great school can make possible a dream of a life time in the culinary profession, at the top and with the best.  Learning not only fine food, but wines, people, language, you name it.  The world of possibilities in this arena is only limited at this point by your education in such matters.  There is so much to learn you will never master it all, and even if your dream is to run a rib shack, the experience you will get from cooking school is a must.  New perspectives, and the connections you will make will help you become a success in your endeavors.  I know 2 people who made their partnerships while in school and opened successful restaurants after graduating.   Here is a list of culinary arts schools that will help you pursue your fame and fortune.

The Culinary Institute of America

http://www.ciachef.edu/

The French Culinary Institute

http://www.frenchculinary.com/index_noflash.html

The California Culinary Academy

http://www.baychef.com/

I sincerely hope anyone wishing to pursue a career in the field of the culinary arts does so, and also, would take a business class or too as well.  Serving others is it’s own reward.

The city of Baltimore, according to residents the “greatest city in America”, is Maryland’s largest city, and is not part of any county.  John Hopkins University and John Hopkins Hospital are the city’s biggest employers.  Students will enjoy Baltimore’s humid, sub tropic climate.   A cute city with over 300 identifiable districts, residents are not far from Mount Vernon and the Washington Monument.  Home also to a rabid selection of fans, both the NFL’s

Ravens and the MLB’s Orioles are lucky recipients of the adoration denizens lavish upon both teams.

Baltimore International College sports a highly decorated staff from around the world, notably Global Master Chef Jan Bandula.   Their goal is to prepare students for a diverse career  in hospitality from brittish classics to french cooking.  They also offer shadow days for prospective students, as well as several good open houses.  The staff averages over 25 years of experience for each chef instructor.

Not bad for a not for profit  private college, Baltimore International College is accredited through the commission on Higher Education of the United States.  They offer a Masters in Hospitality, which is a completely online program, and also pride the small classes.

Degrees offered at BIC range from certificate programs to an online masters degree.

Contact Information

-Website: www.chic.edu

-Phone: 1-800-624-9926

-Email: Admissions@bic.edu

-Address

BIC Admissions Department

17 Commerce street

 Baltimore MD 21202

The head honcho is Lloyd Kirsch is the CHA President at CHIC.  The facility has all of the staff listed online for viewing, and I can see why.  All highly accredited, skilled professionals making up a laundry list of extreme caliber.  Anyone privileged enough to work under the staff at CHIC (many of which were educated themselves at CHIC) would be very wise to commit every second of that experience to permanent memory.

The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago’s culture is one of cultivated excellence, all of the staff seem to take personally the ambitions of the students.  A deep vision of higher education in a variety of fields with an emphasis on well roundedness polish the sophisticated image.  As for clubs and activities, there’s no school football, but how the heck can you beat a wine tasting club?

The programs featured at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago:

Associate of Applied Science Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts

Associate of Applied Science Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking

Certificate in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts

Contact Information

-Website: www.chic.edu

-Phone: 1-888-295-7222

-Address

The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago

316 West Chestnut

Chicago IL 60610

Parked in one of the most desirable cities of the U.S., Orlando Culinary Academy is like a vacation while you are being educated.  Orlando keeps a playground of familiar faces, such as Walt Disney World Resort, Seaworld, Universal Studios Resort, the Epcot Center, and more gorgeous golf courses than can be counted.  A 13.4 Billion dollar technology industry piled on top of the ample tourist economy makes for a great place to learn the high end food business.  Nicknamed “the beautiful city” for good reason, Orlando is home to well over 227,000 people, and still has room for the NBA team The Orlando Magic.

      The staff at Orlando Culinary Academy work personally with the students there, and actually tutor them when necessary. They themselves are experienced professionals, and understand the career needs of the students they teach.  OCA’s Director of Career Services helps approaching graduates achieve the career they deserve, and the OCA boasts a staff with many connections and recourses for their alumni.

      The Orlando Culinary Academy wears it’s tradition of ethics, challenge, and practical application proudly.  Topics of science, culture, and history alongside the culinary arts, make for a well rounded and balanced education which prepared it’s students for whatever may come their way.  High standards, and an expectation of student involvement keep Orlando Culinary Academy running with the best.

The list of programs featured at OCA:

Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts (Associate of Applied Science Degree)

Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie & Baking (Associate of Applied Science Degree)     

Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts (Diploma)

Contact Information

-Website: www.orlandoculinary.com

-Phone: 1-888-793-3222

-Address

Orlando Culinary Academy

8511 Commodity Circle, suite 100

Orlando FL 32819