One of the things you have to realize about culinary arts schools is that they’re mostly a place to make contacts. The best culinary schools will give you cooking skills, but more importantly they will introduce you to inspiring and top-notch people in your chosen field. On the other hand, going to the best culinary school in the nation isn’t going to help if it is in an area you don’t want to work in. You want to find a good chef school in a city that you are interested in finding employment in. That way, you will already have the connections that you need to get started.
The best culinary school I ever saw was in Chicago. I was actually enrolled as a student there for a few weeks, but I had to drop out due to some family emergencies. One thing I liked about it was that It was a lot more laid back than your average top chef school. The chefs did not shout at you or order you around. They simply told you what to do and expected you to follow instructions. Don’t get me wrong, there were standards. If you deliberately disobeyed what you were told to do, you would get in trouble. Nonetheless, they didn’t really pride themselves on taking an authoritarian, angry approach. Unlike many of the other best culinary schools, they preferred to be more positive and supportive.
Then again, finding the best culinary schools for you personally depends more on your own individual approach than on any easily quantifiable standard. For me, a good school is one that has an attitude that encourages corporation instead of competition. Other people, however, thrive in an competitive atmosphere and would do better in a high-stress school. The best thing to do is take a visit, talk with professors and students, get a tour of the facilities, and then decide. Ask yourself if they are focusing on the culinary arts and regional cuisines that you appreciate most, or if the focus is outside of your area of interest. Ask yourself if you get along with the people there, or if you could do with a different environment. Be honest and assess your needs. Don’t worry about what schools are rated as the best culinary schools. Worry about what school would be the best place for you to launch your career as a professional chef. Remember, when it all gets down to it, it is all about your career in culinary management, cooking, or catering. All of the rest is just posturing by different professional organizations.
