The Cook Street School of Fine Cooking offers two primary types of classes. The school has recreational classes that provide students with a relaxed environment to study more than 40 different cooking lessons. The focus of the school though, is on their professional Culinary Arts Program. This is an accelerated, five-month program that aims to condense the normal two-year college cooking education. Students spend almost all of their time in a hands-on learning environment, learning in the kitchen instead of the classroom. The program focuses on areas such as French and Italian cooking, wine; it concludes with a tour of France and Italy. The Cook Street School is located in Denver.
A Denver-based school, the Art Institute of Colorado has five different culinary programs that it offers to students. For those strictly interested in the kitchen, there is the Baking and Pastry program, The Art of Cooking program and a Culinary Arts option. For those who aspire to run their own restaurants, there are two management focused programs. The Culinary Arts program prepares students for entry level jobs in kitchens and is available through a weekend and evening training option.
The Colorado Mountain College Culinary Institute makes sure that its graduates have enough practical experience in the kitchen to be valuable employees in a restaurant upon graduation. They put a strong emphasis on hands-on training. This program can be studied at the Beaver Creek or Keystone locations. These programs rotate students through various kitchens in their respective areas to build experience in diverse learning environments. Students are also employed in these kitchens during this time, so they have the opportunity to earn a wage while studying their chosen profession. The complete program is three years and includes three semesters of study a year. Upon completion, students will earn an associate's degree and three professional certificates.
CSR is located in Boulder, Colorado. Students choose from the Pastry Arts, Chef Track or Culinary Arts program when applying to the school. It takes 15 weeks of part-time study to complete the Pastry Arts program, and 18 part-time weeks for the Chef Track program. The Culinary Arts program is a six-month full-time program. A typical day includes a lecture, food preparation and dining in groups. Kitchen cleaning is also done every day. This program also includes a five-week externship. During this time, students work in the food and farm industry in Colorado. Admission requires a high school diploma or equivalent, and submission of a personal essay and references.