I want to be a culinary student. . .suggestions?

Question

I am currently going into my Junior year of High School. And I want to become a Culinary student in college, planning ahead of course. I want to major in the Culinary arts and possibly minor in some form of other art.
I also want to go to the Art Institute of Cincinnati.

Do you have any other suggestions of good Culinary schools?

And what can I do to become the best candidate for a Culinary school?

Answer 1

Often times, the best culinary education is just cooking itself. Culinary schools have exploded in popularity, and the loans a culinary student can rack up can be detrimental in comparison to the wages you are paid (at first at least). Most of the best chefs/cooks I know never went to culinary school at all--it's one of those fields where schooling is not necessary for success (unlike, say, medical school).

IMHO, I would go to art school--that is a very vibrant and exciting place to be--and get a part time job as a prep or line cook. Work under the most talented chef you can and be responsive to his/her way of doing things. That is a culinary education in itself, and you'll also glean terrific information, like where you'll want to go to culinary school and what to get out of it, not to mention, making yourself a better candidate for the school of your choice, should you decide to pursue a formalized culinary education later. Cooking is a trade, a terrific one, and perhaps the best place to start is in an apprenticeship, not school. Art, on the other hand, is a mental pursuit. Spend your tuition dollars there first--you'll be buying yourself the time you need to develop the person you want to become.

I hope you find that the two fields will dovetail beautifully. I wish you many successes.

Answer 2

Some really good culinary schools are The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, Kendall College, The Culinary Institute of America, and like you have already discovered any of the Art Institutes.

To become a good candidate for a culinary school, you should get involved in some of the summer camps and programs that a lot of the schools offer, and a lot of times these camps can get money taken off the tuition of the schools. Also, you can have a job that deals with the culinary arts, a lot of schools, including the Culinary Institute of America, require you to have worked for some amount of time in a kitchen where 50% or more of the product is made from scratch.

Answer 3

The best-known culinary school in the U.S. is the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, NY. There are, of course, many others,but this one seems to get the most respect. Unless you go to a community college, however, most general colleges don't offer Culinary Arts as an academic subject, so you would probably be going to a culinary school and wouldn't have an opportunity to choose a minor. In order to become a good candidate, you should get work experience in a restaurant or for a caterer, and

Answer 4

My suggestion would be to do some research on the best known school of this kind in the world, the Cordon Bleu in France. Perhaps it is too expensive, too far from home, or maybe you know of a better one, but looking at what their criteria are might give you some insight on your question. And hey, someone is going to go to Cordon Bleu.

Why not YOU?