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Any chefs here on the forum? I've been thinking about going through the Le Cordon Bleu program in Los Angeles, is it worth the money to go through the program? any advice is welcome, tks!
Any program that teaches french technique will be helpful but understand for the most part it will still get you the same entry level position in the kitchen had you not gone, you'll just know a lot more .....jk.
That is a chain of schools much like ITT.
There are culinary schools that will give you a leg up and they are worth it but costly.
My boss at the last company I worked for founded it then sold it to a company that owns several other culinary schools. In his opinion, the quality of education has declined over the last several years.
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Originally Posted by my350z
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Any program that teaches french technique will be helpful but understand for the most part it will still get you the same entry level position in the kitchen had you not gone, you'll just know a lot more .....jk.
That is a chain of schools much like ITT.
There are culinary schools that will give you a leg up and they are worth it but costly.
so true, but what a difference it makes. you go in entry level but if you show you are capable you will move very fast. not that there is money to be made anyway, lol.
also: I would choose a school that you get a full education at over just a culinary school, go for a associates at least.
any of the chefs I know... would say that you should try working in a kitchen first, and maybe go to school second. the life is not at all glamorous or easy.
Last edited by Motormouth; 11-11-2009 at 04:42 PM.
also: I would choose a school that you get a full education at over just a culinary school, go for a associates at least.
IMO, cooking is about wanting to feed people. It is about wanting to cook for folk. Making ish that people eat is spiritual. My mom's mac and cheese was horrible but she wanted it to be the best and I could taste that. It is still my favorite mac and cheese but technique and recipe wise there are a lot better mac and cheeses out there.
Last edited by surfcity40; 11-11-2009 at 04:46 PM.
IMO, cooking is about wanting to feed people. It is about wanting to cook for folk. Making ish that people eat is spiritual. My mom's mac and cheese was horrible but she wanted it to the best and I could taste that. It is still my favorite mac and cheese but technique and recipe wise there are a lot better mac and cheeses out there.
of course, but if people want to make a profession out of it, it takes a lot more than wanting to feed people to be successful. learning how to cook does not teach you those things.
Yeah if you are looking to be a chef, don't expect to make the money you pay for tuition right out of school. You are going to be working nights, weekends and holidays... for not much. But you will be able to get into a good restaurant, and I know some people that go to the TCA le cordon bleu program here in Austin, as well as some that go to the CIA in New York. Both are expensive as hell, but you do get what you pay for. If you can afford it it's a great education, and you can get some great internship opportunities as well, which will help you get your foot in the door in the industry. A friend of mine just left for an internship in Las Vegas at I believe the Bellagio.
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If you say 'beer can' in a British accent, you are saying 'bacon' in a Jamaican accent.
Take it from me. i have been in the biz for a while. Only pay to go to culinary school if you are commited to the lifestyle.
Regardless of where you go, the joke I have heard constantly over the years is: $40 K tuition, graduate and make half that yearly.
If you have the passion, it does not matter where you go. youll learn something and succeed.
Personally, I would go to the cheapest school and spend the rest of the student loans on supporting myself as I worked for top restaurants for cheap or free. Adding the big restaurants on your resume will help more than the name of the school where you learned to cook.
Personally, I would go to the cheapest school and spend the rest of the student loans on supporting myself as I worked for top restaurants for cheap or free. Adding the big restaurants on your resume will help more than the name of the school where you learned to cook.
Don't go to the cheapest. I'm speaking from personal experience. You will probably get what you pay for. There's a culinary program at the school I got to, and tuition is less than $1000 a semester. The program was horrible. Learning how to be a chef takes a lot of hands-on experience and hands-on learning, and if it's a cheap program, you won't get near enough of either, because of the fact that the hands-on aspect costs a lot of money, for obvious reasons. I took culinary courses for a semester and a half, and the most complex thing we cooked was a pot of chili. I decided to change majors after I wasted all that time, and the instructors were not good. The head guy was on a constant power trip, got off on the fact that he knew more about cooking than the students, and would not instruct, but rather make students look like idiots for any mess-up.
But I would consider it carefully if you do not have the means to afford it easily. Only go for it if you TRULY have a passion for cooking. It will be a lot of hard work and will most likely not make a lot of money for a while. Look into Art Institute's culinary program too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phreaktor
Wrong Forum. Sacre bleu!
I think this thread is fine in this thread- it does not pertain to actual recipes or cooking directly, but rather education.
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If you say 'beer can' in a British accent, you are saying 'bacon' in a Jamaican accent.
so true, but what a difference it makes. you go in entry level but if you show you are capable you will move very fast. not that there is money to be made anyway, lol.
also: I would choose a school that you get a full education at over just a culinary school, go for a associates at least.
any of the chefs I know... would say that you should try working in a kitchen first, and maybe go to school second. the life is not at all glamorous or easy.
Agree with choosing a school with full education, I did it and recieved a associates in culinary. I went the Art Institute in San Diego. It was a good experience and learned alot of things. When I first started my job in a restaurant called Blanca in Solano Beach learned alot more things than school. Its true it is not glamorous or easy it is not for everyone, when people ask me my opinion of getting into this line of work I don't suggest it, it is not for everyone. You don't really need the education, just the experience but it is better on the resume. And another thing just because you graduated from culinary school does NOT make you a chef, you have to earn it through years of experience in order to consider yourself a chef.
Le cordon bleu, good choice or not?
titanium ultraviolet 
