List of Schools Offering Culinary Arts Degree Programs

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What is a culinary school? For those who want a career as a chef or in any other high level job involving cooking, culinary school is an important step in their career path. Culinary schools teach technique, proper food storage, taste and flavor profiles, and more. However, finding a good collegiate level school that offers a quality culinary arts degree program can be a challenge. For that reason, the following lists of culinary schools have been assembled by region.

Northeast

For those looking to attend culinary school in the Northeastern part of the U.S., here are a few valid options:

•Institute of Culinary Education (NYC)
•International Culinary Center (NYC)
•Culinary Institute at Hyde Park (NYC)
•Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts (Boston, MA)
•Pennsylvania Culinary Institute (PA)

Midwest

In cities like Chicago, finding a great culinary school isn’t really that hard. There are several fantastic options in that area of the country.

•Kendall College School of Culinary Arts (Chicago, IL)
•Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts at Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN)

Southeast

One of the hardest areas of the country to find a quality culinary arts program is in the south. However, there are still a few great choices available.

•Sullivan University (Louisville, KY)
•Johnson & Wales University (NC)

Southwest

In the southwestern U.S., culinary school options are a little sparser. However, there are still some great schools available.

•Texas Culinary Academy
•Le Cordon Bleu (Dallas, TX)
•Scottsdale Culinary Institute (AZ)

West Coast

One of the best areas of the country for culinary school options is the west coast. California, especially, offers students several great choices for a culinary arts education.

•California Culinary Academy (San Francisco, CA)
•International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Washington (WA)
•Kitchen Academy (Seattle, Sacramento, Los Angeles)

What is a Culinary School?

So, what is a culinary school? It is a place where aspiring chefs can learn the basics of cooking and food preparation techniques, restaurant management, finances, and more. Anything and everything he or she will need to become a successful chef is taught during time spent in culinary school. Of course, culinary school is just the first step. Once a chef learns the basics while in culinary school, the next step is gaining experience in the kitchen.

What’s Next?

After culinary school, a chef has to apply all he or she learned while gaining their culinary arts degree to an actual kitchen situation. Working under an experienced head chef is the best way to move up the career ladder as an entry-level chef. While culinary school teaches students the basics, an experienced chef teaches the rest. For a chef to have a successful career, both education and experience are necessary.

Tuition Costs

The tuition for culinary school is similar to that of any other college, but the payoff is worth the cost of tuition. For example, the tuition for Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte, NC is $26,412, which seems relatively expensive at first glance. However, once a chef has spent the time and money gaining a culinary arts degree along with a few years experience, it is quite common for an Executive chef to earn over $85,000 annually. With that in mind, the cost of tuition seems a little more reasonable.