Chef school
is one step to becoming a gourmet chef.
Chef schools that confer upon you the title of gourmet chef do not exist. Earning this title takes years of experience working under gourmet chefs in four-star restaurants and perfecting your skills. Graduating from a highly rated chef school is just one step on a long path but a very important one. For those with the talent and work ethic to become a gourmet chef, there are many exceptional chef schools around the world.
International Schools
Le Cordon Bleu is a chain of 29 chef schools that are now spread across five continents, starting with one cooking school in Paris. The tutors are top chefs from Michelin-star restaurants, and they teach a total of 20,000 students annually. The one-year program leads to a Le Grand Diplôme Le Cordon Bleu qualification. The program is split into six courses, three dealing with cuisine and three focusing on pastry-making.
United States
The Art Institutes consist of 45 schools across the United States. The culinary course sends students out on internships. However, there are also opportunities to work in the Art Institutes' own student-run restaurants in each of the 45 cities. The French Culinary Institute is another chef school in the United States, located in New York. This is a fast and intense course that can be finished in six months. New classes begin every six weeks. Students spend the last third of the program cooking in the school's Michelin-rated restaurant, L'Ecole.
European Schools
Located in both Tuscany, Italy and Provence, France, the Rhode School of Cuisine has two highly rated chef schools, though these are not formal courses of study. The two European schools differ, specializing in the typical cuisine of their respective locations. The DCT Swiss Hotel and Culinary Arts School is a formal course of study. This private, two-year chef school is located in Vitznau, Switzerland. The program is split into five areas of learning: European food and beverage service, European cuisine, European pastry and chocolate, European gourmet cuisine and European culinary management. An internship in Switzerland is included in the course.
The Rest of the World
Savour Chocolate and Patisserie Cooking School is a culinary school in Melbourne, Australia. Students will learn make confectioneries, such as petits fours, praline and French gateaux. The school was founded by renowned pastry chef Kirsten Tibbals. At the South African Chefs Academy in Cape Town, a total of 32 applicants are allowed into the one-year course annually. Winners of the Sunday Times Chef of the Year awards, in both the Junior and Senior divisions, have been graduates of this school.
Tags: gourmet chef, United States, chef school, cooking school, Cordon Bleu, cuisine European, highly rated