Leading National Culinary Arts Schools

Where do you find the best culinary schools, you know the ones that consistently turn out future celebrity chefs?

Celebrity chef alumni certainly don’t hurt a culinary school’s rep, but they don’t paint the whole picture of any school’s depth. Here are some of the factors you should be taking into consideration when sizing up “top” culinary schools and/or doing any side-by-side comparison:

• Relevance of curriculum and courses. Most top chef schools have lengthy track records of dishing up relevant curriculums that train chefs in the latest professional kitchen and restaurant techniques—all the skills and know-how the restaurants seek when hiring new chef and pastry chef grads.
• Emphasis on hands-on and “immersion” studies. Popular and well-known school-owned and student-run restaurants, hotels and resorts put student chefs into work-study situations immediately. Do student chefs have the opportunity to work under the guidance of chef/instructors and/or guest chefs in realistic stressful kitchen environments?
• Strong connections to the culinary community, relationships with well-known restaurants and hotels also help chef grads land good jobs, further solidifying a school’s popularity.
• Diversity of degrees and programs, including culinary specialization and programs tailored to both full-time and part-time students. Are there options for accelerated professional programs and for liberal arts degree programs?

Finding Top Chef Schools

Use this guide to learn more about the most popular and well-known culinary schools in the country. Outside of the French Culinary Institute in New York, you’ll discover that the leading schools offer multiple campuses, some—such as the International Culinary Schools at the Art Institutes and Le Cordon Bleu Academy—maintain a few dozen campuses dotted across the U.S. Kitchen Academy maintains two West Coast campuses, well-recognized Johnson and Wales University offers 4 locations, and if you’re looking to study in an idyllic New England setting check out the New England Culinary Institute. All are convenient to major metro areas.

Or if you are looking for a top culinary school in a particular metropolitan area, then search for a professional cooking school by city or by state.

Find out how you can put your passion for cooking to work for you. Learn everything you need to know about becoming an executive chef, sous chef, line chef, station chef, garde manger, or pastry chef at one of these excellent schools.

Remember, the most sought-after culinary arts schools earn their reputations.