culinary school

Something to think about on a snowy (for some) Saturday. . . I know I have been pondering (okay dreaming about, daydreaming about, crunching the numbers about) a Master’s in Gastronomy for months, and I have been more than interested in the Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center at Boston University. So when Rob from Culinary School Guys contacted me to see if I was interested in guest posters, I jumped at the chance. I think that you will find the post below fun to read and maybe something to think about and explore, even just as a dream possibility.

Have you ever gone to or thought about culinary school?

Four Unique Food and Wine Schools

There is an assortment of well known cooking and chef’s schools that pop up on multiple websites for every inquiring foodie thinking about a career in the industry. We decided to highlight slightly different educational resources that seem to have either authoritative critical mass or that offer something unique in the way of career opportunities for food and wine enthusiasts.

In recognition of our host blog it’s essential to tip the hat to the Boston University Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center. BU has applied its academic standards to the wine programs offered here; there are four levels of study dedicated to the vintner’s craft. While all four levels can provide “personal enrichment” for the wine enthusiast, completion of them can qualify graduates for work in the wine industry.

The instructors have worked as sommeliers, as writers for food and wine publications, as a division manager for a beverage distributor, and (for local celebrity) as VP of beverage operations for Legal Seafoods. It’s a good snapshot of where serious training in a wine school can take you.

Johnson and Wales University has long been recognized for its contributions to quality education in the culinary arts. With four locations Colorado, North Carolina, Florida and Rhode Island they have been turning out pastry chefs, highly trained chefs and food service management experts for years.

In 1993 they became the first school to offer an accredited Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts. They also have a degree in Culinary Nutrition approved by the American Dietetic Association. Perhaps their most intriguing option for the business-minded student is their BS in Food Service Entrepreneurship.

The International Wine Guild, presents as a credible institution, based in Denver but offering an appropriately international approach to an industry with an ancient and intercontinental history. The courses for four levels of certification extend from the basics of wine manufacture and differentiation to food and cuisine matching, fortified wines and the niceties of wine tasting.

While it lacks the panache of some of the established wine institutes, the Guild has assembled an excellent academic track for wine professionals and would-be wine professionals. Level II or Level III Guild graduates qualify as trained wine industry managers, either as buyers or as food service specialists. Once again, a professional track emerges from the study of a culinary art form.

Kendall College in Illinois has quietly built a reputation as one of the top culinary schools in the country – and thus far, has resisted the national trend to affiliate with Le Cordon Bleu. Kendall’s School of Culinary Arts turns out chefs trained in professional cooking with an in-depth understanding of international cuisine from Latin America, Asia and the Mediterranean. In the next department over is the School of Hospitality Management: “the art of hospitality and the science of management.”

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Amy Love is a freelance writer for Culinary Schools Guys.com.