To learn cooking in a French school, you don't have to live in France. International programs include the Le Cordon Bleu, which has campuses in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The French Culinary Institute, profiled on CulinarySchools.org as "quite possibly the number one French cooking school in the U.S.," is based in New York City. Culinary vacations are also popular, giving aspiring chefs a chance to learn cooking techniques during a trip to France. There is even a distance-learning option: Rouxbe bills itself as "the web's first-ever online cooking school," with students in nearly 200 countries.
French cooking schools offer a diverse array of curriculum. Formal programs in renowned schools such as Le Cordon Bleu and Art Institutes offer diplomas, associate and bachelor's degrees. Students can also choose a specialization in such areas as cuisine, patisserie, hospitality or management. There are shorter programs offered by smaller French cooking schools, such as International Kitchen, and the French Cooking Classes program in Provence, France, both of which feature classes in regional cuisine.
Tuition at cooking schools can be steep, ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 for complete programs, and $20,000 to 40,000 for a cuisine or pastry curriculum. Shorter programs that last from a couple of days to a week can cost $500 to $3000. Some schools offer financial aid, such as scholarships, or are approved by the government to participate in student loan programs.
People who are interested in French cooking but have no formal training may want to take classes in a specific area first, such as cuisine or patisserie, instead of combining courses from two concentrations. Advanced opportunities often are available for students who have achieved mastery in their introductory cooking classes. The French Institute in New York City, for example, encourages students to grow as chefs by putting them in the kitchen in the school's L'Ecole restaurant.
Before selecting a cooking school, find out which schools have a program that caters to your interests. If you want to learn about chocolate in French patisserie, choose a program taught by a patisserie chef who has extensive experience working with chocolate. Then, research the faculty and their reputations, and talk to former students. It is important to find a good mentor whose French cooking style or philosophy will benefit you in your future career.