Whats the best culinary school in Chicago?
I know someone who just graduated from the Illinois Institute of Art culinary school. He had a Bachelor’s degree before he started, so it only took him about 2 years. He recently completed an internship at Thomas Keller’s restaurant in New York (Per Se), so I imagine it’s got a pretty good program, although the person I know doesn’t specialize in pastry. I also know a woman who goes to Kendall and seems to enjoy it. She doesn’t have a Bachelor’s, and I don’t think she’s super into pastry, either (she used to work at Cousin’s, and I think she might be vegan — at least interested in vegan cooking). From what I can tell, Kendall’s into hospitality and restaurant management in general. It looks like the Cooking and Hospitality Insitute of Chicago offers a “Cordon Bleu” Associate’s in Baking/Patisserie. That
I graduated from Johnson and Wales several years ago (culinary arts not baking and pastry) and would never do it again. My advice is to go to some of those places j-dawg recommended or some bakery you are particularly fond of, and ask for a job. You’ll learn the skills and recipes, get on the job training, build your resume, and get paid (granted, not much) at the same time. Stay there until you think you’ve learned as much as you can from that chef and then move on to another spot specializing in something completely different and repeat the learning process. Hopefully in the time you would have spent in school, you’ve got as good or better foundation as culinary school could provide and it hasn’t cost you anything. Oh, and be sure you’re really willing to work baker’s hours 😉 Good luck!
