For most of history, cooking techniques and recipes were passed from generation to generation. That all changed in 1895 when Marthe Distel opened Le Cordon Bleu, the world's first major culinary institute. American culinary training reached new heights with the opening of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in 1946 in New Haven, CT. In 1972, the CIA moved to Hyde Park, NY, where it remains today. Over the past 50 years, several prestigious American and International culinary school have opened their doors and trained world-class chefs, bakers and even food critics.
The Culinary Institute of America is widely considered the best culinary school in the country and even the world. Other culinary-only institutes, such as The Institute of Culinary Education, offer esteemed rigorous programs. If an aspiring chef wants to obtain a bachelor's degree at a school that teaches other subjects as well, he has the option of attending places like Johnson & Wales in Providence, RI, or the Baltimore International College in Baltimore, MD. A few culinary programs offer associate's degrees plus a certificate from the American Culinary Federation upon graduation. Schools in this latter category include Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana and Manchester Community College of Connecticut.
The top culinary schools often require applicants to have a moderate deal of hands-on experience. For instance, CIA requires at least six months of restaurant, soup kitchen, apprenticeship and/or cafeteria experience. CIA also requires applicants to take assessment tests. Schools that offer associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees often have several nonculinary programs and thus don't stress restaurant experience as much as a place like CIA. That said, the more experience you have, the more attractive candidate you will be.
Most culinary schools offer a wide range of intricate classes. While culinary methods and techniques are always stressed, the education usually goes far beyond cooking. From culinary marketing to culinary nutrition to food service entrepreneurship, the elite culinary institutes are far more than just "cooking schools." The demand for quality restaurants is a constant. Therefore, culinary institutes provide students will all the necessary tools for success on the modern restaurant scene.
Like most colleges and universities, culinary schools offer students a wide range of career options. Alumni networks ensure that current students can meet and develop relationships with working professionals. Most culinary schools also hold annual job fairs and even on-campus recruiting.
Much like aspiring directors who avoid film schools, some aspiring chefs fear that culinary school will indoctrinate them into certain rigid methods. While there are surely chefs who succeed without ever attending culinary school, the modern culinary school gives its students a certain degree of flexibility rather than require adherence to one particular technique.