Cook school is a colloquial term for a culinary or cooking school. The cook school can serve a variety of purposes, including teaching children to cook and awarding culinary degrees and certification. A cook school’s location could be the local park and recreation department’s kitchen or the kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu, the world’s largest hospitality education training institution. Admission to a cook school may be as simple as making a phone call and paying with a credit card, or it may require an application, a well-written letter explaining why you want to attend culinary school, and a hefty application fee.
When it comes to culinary schools, there are a variety of courses that can be found there, as well as a variety of degrees and certificates that can be earned. There is a Cuisine curriculum and a Pâtisserie curriculum, or a Culinary Arts curriculum and a Baking and Pastry Arts curriculum, in most culinary schools. In some cases, certificates are available in a variety of levels, such as basic, intermediate, and superior. A Certificate in Professional Cooking may also be offered, with levels of certification similar to the Culinary Institute of America’s Certified Culinarian, Certified Chef de Cuisine, and Certified Executive Chef.
Additionally, degree programs such as associates and associates in occupational studies, as well as bachelor of arts and bachelor of professional studies, may be available. Baking and pastry, sustainability, wine and beverage, hospitality, and restaurant management are some of the fields of study. Some schools combine culinary and hospitality education, resulting in degrees and certificates in related fields such as Foodservice Management and Food Store Management.
Culinary schools with a good reputation can be found all over the world. There are 29 Le Cordon Bleu schools in Paris, France, London, England, Ottawa, Canada, Seoul, Korea, Kobe and Tokyo, Japan, Adelaide and Sydney, Australia, and throughout the United States. Julia Child was a graduate of the program.
The Culinary Institute of America, which has locations in New York, California, and Texas and uses the abbreviation CIA, just like the Central Intelligence Agency, is a well-known culinary school in the United States. Food Network stars Sara Moulton and Michael Chiarello, as well as Iron Chef Cat Cora, are among the graduates. Anthony Bourdain, host of No Reservations and other cooking shows, is also a graduate. Emeril Lagasse, the Food Network chef and restaurant owner, graduated from Johnson & Wales University, which has four campuses in the United States.
Smaller culinary schools are also available. The New England Culinary Institute in Vermont is a small culinary arts school with well-known alumni such as Alton Brown, the host and creator of the Food Network show Good Eats. DCT European Culinary Arts and the Pastry & Chocolate Center in Switzerland are among the others.