Types of Cuisines, Methods, and Cooking Schools

Do you love to cook? Do you want to learn how to cook? If you answered yes to one of these questions, you may want to consider enrolling in a Cooking School training program. There is more to a cooking school program than simply following recipes.

As a student you can choose what you want to learn. There are a variety of training programs available. Some people want to learn the basics. They want to know how to cook they own meals, and stop the endless fast food cycle. Others may aspire to become a master chef. Regardless of your personal goal, you will find a cooking program that is right for you.

What will you learn in a Cooking School Training Program? You will learn how to slice, dice, and chop in a professionally equipped kitchen. That's just the beginning. Here is what you have to look forward to...

• Baking
  
• Grilling
  
• Saute
  
• Pastry Creation
  
• Garnishing
  
• Menu Planning
  
• Kitchen Safety
  
• Business Operations

Many schools teach hospitality and restaurant management as part of their program. They offer flexible hours. You can take either day or evening classes. You spend a lot of time cutting meat, chopping onions, kneading dough and beating eggs. All of this will be done under the direct supervision of experts. They will teach you the tricks of their trade. You will have the benefit of knowing if you are on task or if you are making mistakes.

What type of culinary arts degree do you choose if you want to learn Chinese cooking or Italian cooking? Types of cooking schools, including Chinese cooking school, Thai, French and even pastry school, provide you with specialized culinary training beyond basic cooking skills. Most specializations are in a specific cuisine, but outliers like pastry school and online cooking schools comprise large slices of the cooking school pie.

Popular Cooking Schools and Programs

What are the top culinary schools?

• The Art Institute
  
• The Culinary Institute of America
  
• Johnson and Wales University, College of Culinary Arts
  
• Le Cordon Bleu
  
• New England Culinary Institute

The Culinary Institute of America is considered to be the best in the nation. They have several locations. Look them up to find the one that meets your needs. Le Cordon Bleu is found on five continents around the world. Some of the most well know chefs have attended their program.

Explore Top Culinary Schools

French cooking courses, program majors and degrees are popular and plentiful. Schools such as the French Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu and many of the International Culinary Arts schools all focus a large part of their programs on French cuisine and chef training.

There are degree programs designed to suit all needs. A CIA Bachelor's or Associate's degree in either the Culinary Arts or in the Baking and Pastry Arts can help you find the career you desire. You can earn a degree, or a certificate. You decide. Do you want to be a food professional or a food enthusiast?

The best and most popular cooking schools allow their students to be creative and use their imaginations. Your grades will often be based on your creativity as well as your ability to follow direction. The effort you put into your cooking will go a long way when it comes to your grades. Instructors can tell which students really care and which ones are simply going through the motions. The best advice is to relax, have fun and find your own style.

Specialized Culinary Schools

How do I know which Cooking School Program is right for me? The key is to find the one that best suits your needs. Do you want to stay close to home or would you rather venture out? The top cooking schools have many locations. Find one in the area that meets your needs. Keep in mind that some schools will focus on regional flavors or their local food trends. They may favor a certain food genre or types of sauces. Make sure to find one that suits you tastes.

As ubiquitous as are French cooking school curriculums, plenty of other ethnic and culturally distinct cuisines are quite absent from contemporary mainstream culinary academics. Chinese, Thai and Japanese – the Asian cuisines—are ultra-specialized in every way. When you find an authentic Chinese cooking school, for example, you learn amazing things about one of the oldest culinary cultures in the world. The flavors, cooking techniques, and even some of the cooking tools, are unique unto themselves.

Pastry chef schools are also typically natural components in a larger culinary arts school. When you choose culinary school you choose one of two culinary specializations: chef or pastry chef. In most cases you already know to which you are most drawn or where your passion lies. Each is quite specialized in and of itself.

Cooking Courses

Most cooking classes include one or two hours of lecture along with the more practical hands-on approach. There are many class topics covered in a cooking school program.

• Professional Cooking
  
• Restaurant Baking
  
• Restaurant Pastry Arts
  
• Culinary Arts
  
• Catering and Banquet Operations
  
• Restaurant Ownership and Management
  
• Hospitality and Catering Business Management

You will cover cleaning and sanitation techniques as well as how to set a dining room table. As a cooking school student you will have textbooks. You will also have to complete homework and take quizzes in a classroom setting. Students spend most of their time in the kitchen. They will need at least four hours a day to do hands-on cooking.

Cooking School Programs that Convert to Distance Education

Another unique type of cooking school is served online. Use this guide to find out which programs are best suited to an online academic environment—all are not a good fit. But in cases in which you are majoring in a suitable culinary degree an online option could mean the difference between going to school or being unable to create a schedule that fits at all.

Use this guide to discover special types of cooking schools or to find out further how and where you can get the chef training you need to become expert in a particular cuisine.

Your Cooking Career

Paid OTJ Training

What about on the job training? Most schools offer students a paid internship with some of the best area restaurants. Some schools offer externships. This means that you will do part of your course work in an external restaurant setting. This gives the student an opportunity to become familiar with a restaurant setting before going out on their own.

Career Options

Where will you find work when your cooking classes are complete? You have more options than you may think. The obvious answer is a restaurant. You may want to consider working for a hotel, a resort, or a cruise ship. You can even start your own catering business.

Do you want a career in the culinary arts? It takes hard work and dedication and a certain amount of flexability. The Culinary field is constantly growing. Statistics show that a beginning chef can earn anywhere from $28,000 to $35,000 a year. Keep in mind that weekend evening hours are a must. This is peak time in the restaurant business.

Can you handle it? If you work hard and stay creative, you will enjoy a career in the culinary arts.