California offers many opportunities to study culinary arts.
If you have a passion for cooking, attending culinary school is the first step to becoming a professional chef or baker. California is a natural place to study culinary arts, as the state is home to a wide range of restaurants and bakeries on the forefront of modern cuisine. From Le Cordon Bleu to community colleges, there are a wide range of options for those wishing to study cooking in California.
Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Programs
Le Cordon Bleu schools offer training in culinary arts and baking.
Le Cordon Bleu is perhaps the world's best known cooking school, founded in Paris, France in 1895. Since then, Le Cordon Bleu has expanded to offer programs the world over. Le Cordon Bleu offers programs at three campuses in California: San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Le Cordon Bleu schools offer a variety of certificates and diplomas in culinary arts, patisserie and baking, as well as hospitality and restaurant management.
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
The CIA at Greystone offers programs to fit every taste.
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, a branch of the world- renowned CIA at Hyde Park in New York, is located in St. Helena in the heart of the Napa Valley. The institute offers a wide range of programs including an accelerated culinary arts certificate program, an associate degree in culinary arts or baking and pastry, as well as an accelerated wine and beverage certificate program. The school's culinary degree prepares students to go on to attain their bachelor's degree at the CIA's Hyde Park campus if they so choose. In addition to professional programs, the institute offers classes for food enthusiasts. The school encourages use of fresh and seasonal ingredients, health and nutrition and the cross-cultural cuisine.
The International Culinary Schools of the Art Institutes
The Arts Institutes promise an international culinary education.
The Art Institutes offer training in a wide range of arts-related fields, from media to design and fashion to culinary arts. In California, the Art Institutes offer culinary programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Orange County, San Bernardino, Sunnyvale and San Diego. The Art Institutes promise to offer training in cooking fundamentals as well as exposure to a wide range of international cuisine. Program types vary by campus -- some offer individual courses in baking and pastry while others offer a general culinary arts program.
California Community College Culinary Programs
California community colleges offer programs throughout the state.
Many California community college campuses across the state offer programs in culinary arts, baking and pastry and hospitality management. Programs are available at campuses from Southern California to Northern California and from the coast to the Central Valley. At Contra Costa College, for example, students can take courses in pastry and baking technique as well as classical and modern food preparation. At Grossmont College, students can enroll in a chef apprenticeship, and Lake Tahoe Community College offers a special program in global cuisine. Program offerings vary by campus, and more information can be found on the California community college system's website.
Local Cooking Schools
Many cities are home to smaller, independent cooking schools.
In addition to national and internationally-known schools, California is home to many independent local cooking schools. A smaller cooking school may have both advantages and disadvantages when compared to a larger school. While a larger school can provide you with a degree or certificate recognized the world over, a smaller cooking school may offer more individual attention or closer connections with local restaurants. One example of a local culinary school is Tante Marie's cooking school in San Francisco, which offers intensive short-term professional courses as well as classes for personal enrichment. Successful professional students are given the opportunity to spend an externship at a local culinary establishment.
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