Diploma or certificate programs at short-term, specialty culinary schools give students the skills and experience to work in jobs under the supervision of an experienced chef or kitchen manager. They are intended to give graduates station chef experience so that they can get entry-level jobs in established kitchens. If station chefs choose to advance from this position, it is usually a result of on-the-job training. These six-month to a year educational sessions give participants experience at the various stations within a kitchen, such as the grill, saute or fry cook roles.
Community colleges offer associate degrees in the culinary arts on completion of two-year programs. These programs immerse students in higher levels of responsibility in the kitchen and various styles of cooking, from American to international. The programs typically focus on knife skills, food history and kitchen preparation. Classes could include production cooking skills, baking, pantry and breakfast cookery and practical nutrition.
American culinary schools offering bachelor's or master's degrees tend to focus on the management of kitchens, shops or restaurants. Majors can be in culinary arts or chef training, baking and pastry arts or professional cooking. Culinary courses teach you how to operate all components of the kitchen and how to communicate with and train assistant and apprentice chefs. Lincoln Culinary Institute in Florida, Sullivan University in Kentucky and Stratford University in Virgina offer the bachelor`s degree programs. Strayer University, with locations around the country, offers master`s programs. Some American culinary schools offer hybrid degrees in culinary management along with restaurant, hotel or wine, beverage and spirit management.
Most culinary schools require extensive hands-on, instructional or work experience, along with lectures and classroom instruction. Some American schools feature on-site bistros or restaurants that are managed, operated and staffed by students. Many schools offer work studies programs in kitchens with experienced chefs, some of whom are former or current instructors. This training is commonly referred to as apprenticeships or internships.
The curriculum at American culinary schools commonly includes basic kitchen techniques, western cuisine and dishes, European and international cuisine, ingredient inventory and financial concerns, kitchen sanitation and hygiene, kitchen station maintenance and operation, and menu cultivation and development. Majors related to management typically feature business, accounting, marketing, sales, human resource and employee management classes. U.S. schools frequently have a job placement service to match recent graduates with jobs upon graduation.