Cookery and Hospitality Schools in India

Studying in India provides exposure to a variety of regional influences that can only be appreciated by immersion in the diverse food palate of the country’s culinary heritage. You could make a lifetime excursion into Indian gastronomy, and only scratch the surface of the unique practices and dishes that comprise it. Each region puts forth flavors and nuances that are distinguishing characteristics of local fare.  For culinary students, there is a wealth of knowledge to be tapped in India.

If you’re looking for large formal culinary arts academies, you won’t be disappointed – with several doing an admirable job of filling the growing demand for hospitality professionals.  But don’t be afraid to think outside the box for your Indian culinary education. Dozens of small, hands-on, regional cooking schools operate across the country, in a nod to Indian hospitality and tradition. Don’t discount the knowledge gleaned from a few days spent in a Mumbai, Telicherry, Kerala, Delhi, Calcutta, or Rajasthan kitchen.

Most independent classes are taught in home kitchens, some as part of a bed and breakfast-style experience. You’ll find opportunities to learn Punjabi, Goan or Bengali styles of Indian cookery.  Christian influences allow for the use of meat and fish, while other schools adhere to strict vegetarian preparations. The rich exotic spices you’d expect totaste in Indian dishes are exactly those used most frequently: cinnamon, cardamom, curry, turmeric, coriander, and fenugreek.

Learn and Earn in the Hospitality Industry

Top cooking schools in India answer the call, providing increasing numbers of well-educated hospitality and culinary pros.  Make sure your chosen school has the tools in place to further your culinary dreams.  Look for professional chef/instuctors who bring varied experiences to the teaching kitchen. Facilities should reflect their commercial counterparts.  And industry connections should be established school features – for placing you in productive internships and apprentice roles.

Top Culinary Arts Institutes in India

College of Hospitality and Tourism – New Delhi is one of the leading hospitality and culinary arts schools in India. Students intern in world-class luxury hotels and work in top kitchens to hone their career skills. The College partners with industry Organizations like Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) and Hotel Association of India (HAI) to place students in meaningful externship positions, which often lead to long-term employment.  The India Culinary Forum (ICF) is active in recruiting and career building, to bridge the gap between the industry and the institute.  Programs: Bachelor’s, Diplomas and Certificates in Hotel Management, Food Preparation and Culinary Arts, Indian/Continental/Patisserie, Hotel Management and Catering Operations, and Food and Beverage Service. Established relationships with Indian and international hospitality providers include Four Seasons, Marriott New Dehli, Holiday Inn, and the Ritz, London.

Culinary Academy of India – Hyderabad puts ambitious student chefs into 7 state-of-the-art kitchens, as well as a work while you learn high-volume student-run restaurant. Under the guidance of accomplished master chefs, students work through intensive curriculums that are centered on practical application of theoretical principles.  The heart of the degree program selection is the Bachelor’s in Catering Technology and Culinary Arts Degree (BCT & CA), which builds career proficiency in the following areas:

• Gastronomy
• Patisserie and Confectionery Arts
• Bread Art
• Advanced Garde Manger Arts
• Meat and Charcuterie
• Asian Cooking
• Indian Regional Cuisine
• Indian Confectionery
• International cuisine
• Food and Beverage Pairing
• Drawing and Graphics – To enhance presentation skills.
• Management
• French –To illicit further understanding of classical cooking techniques.

Other courses of study include, Certificate-Food Production and Patisserie, Diploma-Cruise Galley Operations, and Galley-Assistant Preparation.

Mumbai College of Hotel Management and Catering Technology – Mumbaispecializes in training for the workforce, across a wide variety of hospitality, hotel and restaurant jobs. Front of the house operations and kitchen practices are illustrated to provide a thorough understanding of the hotel and restaurant employment structure. The College offers a Master’s in Business Administration Degree in Hotel Management that provides advanced training for management level candidates. Degree programs: MBA Hotel Management, Bachelor’s in Science-Hotel Management, Bachelor’s in Science-Catering Operations and Certificates in Hotel Management and Catering Technologies.

Cooking Classes Across India

Your culinary education takes many forms, so sometimes getting to the heart of a regions unique gastronomic profile involves immersion in the local culture.  Degrees from well-known cooking schools are great resume entries, and provide a breadth of knowledge that cannot be acquired elsewhere, but exposure to inspiring cuisine is also found here:
Gourmet Desire – Delhi - Intimate instruction initiated by a well-traveled gourmand who encourages enrollees to “eat your way through life”.  Four sample itineraries provide exposure to various elements of Indian culture and cuisine, for a “Real Taste of India”, 

• Enjoy a home-cooked meal with an Indian family, in their home.
• The above meal is supplemented with a trip to the spice market to unveil the spice combinations used in the dishes served.
• Add a trip to the vegetable market to increase understanding of the regions agricultural bounty.
• An entire day is spent exploring, shopping and sampling Indian street food.

Delhi Bed and Breakfast – Delhi
Nimmy Paul – Kerala – Home-inspired cookery is the order of the day for Nimmy Paul who has inspired foodies with her cooking instruction for twenty years.  Choose from four distinct learning opportunities that expand on traditional Kerala cooking.  Meal, Day, Stay and Demonstration tracks are self-explanatory in their scope.
Phillip Kutty’s Farm – Kerala -Excellent accommodations are offered in the backwater region of Kerala, on this working farm island.  For interest travelers, a Cookery Holiday has been instituted to provide insight into authentic backwater Christian cuisine.  3-7 days are spent engaging in hands-on learning, illustrated by traditional culinarians who share dishes like Appam (rice bread), Duck Curry, Fish Molee, Kerala Fish Fry, Vegetable Thorans and a selection of chutneys and traditional desserts.

Explore Cooking Classes in Northern Italy

The Tuscany region of Italy, northern Italy, is one of the most popular culinary sources of inspiration among chefs—the cuisine is dynamic, but traditional and sometimes rustic. Cooking schools in Tuscany are dissimilar to most modern American colleges. You’ll find private, vacation cooking schools that cater to food enthusiasts and professional chefs. Classes are small, intimate affairs that illustrate traditional practices and provide tasting tours of the region’s best food.

If your career aspirations include specializing in Italian cuisine, consider studying abroad – at the heart of the Italian tradition. Schools offer courses and workshops that last from 1 day, to a few months. A long weekend instructional workshop in preparing gelato, or a cultural foray into an Italian farmers market impart volumes of culinary knowledge that far exceed a cursory chapter in an American chef program.

Mario Batali is a Food Network pioneer whose long-running series, Molto Mario, brought regional Italian cooking into the matrices of countless epicurean TV viewers.  Italian regional distinctions are characterized by nuances in flavor, which Batali presented in unintimidating TV lessons.

Simplicity is a defining feature of Italian food that adheres to a less-is-more culinary philosophy.  Batali cemented the notion by outlining typical progressions of daily food preparation in Italy.  In Batali’s estimation, the meal starts with a trip to the market to see what is available on any given day.  An Italian menu emerges through a practical assessment of what’s freshest and most abundant.

For culinary students, and modern chefs, the industry sea change is in that direction.  Daily specials and seasonal cooking are the order of the day for advanced foodies, who have turned their eyes toward sustainability and responsible food production practices. Simplicity and straightforward meals are advanced by the same philosophy present in the Italian tradition.

Simple food staples, with Tuscan origins, that are found in any Italian chef’s pantry and fridge:

• Olive Oil
• Dried Beans
• Red Meat
• Garlic
• Pasta – Both Dried and Fresh
• Seafood
• Fresh Herbs
• Garden Vegetables
• Rustic Bread

Major cities in Tuscany include Florence, Siena, Lucca and Pisa. As a culinary student, sample regional fare with an eye toward subtle differences in approach, and ingredients that define Italian cooking.

Popular Tuscan Cooking Schools

Cooking in Tuscany -- Indulge your culinary passion in 1, 3 or 7-day intensive culinary courses - in a real Tuscan kitchen. Over the course of even a single day, guests take their culinary education to a new place, one that eclipses that of American cooking specialty programs.

Gain a renewed love for Italian food, by sampling red wine pulled right from the cellar, olive oil fresh from the presses and rustic artisinal bread. Daylong workshops immerse you in specific Tuscan dishes made with natural, regional ingredients. One day you might learn to make a new type of pasta, and the next; a variety of sauces, each appropriate forembellishing it. Bake salt-less artisan bread loaves in traditional stone ovens, before creating herb infused oils in which to dip them. Chef/instructors, for the weeklong intensive program, guide you through historic Tuscan meals with a curricular emphasis on how regional cooks prepare meals that are based on the seasonal bounty. You’ll learn to develop and prepare a distinctive Italian menu each day – each with 5-courses of Italian gastronomic wonder.

Tuscany Cooking School at the Hotel Della Velia -- This historic hotel features its own cooking school where serious culinary vacationers mix with professional chefs from all over the world. Cooking classes compliment visits to local sites relevant to regional Tuscan cuisine. Guests learn a variety of Tuscan specialties and traditional cooking methods, easily taken away and reproduced in home or professional kitchen.

Tuscookany – Serious gourmands appreciate the Tuscan tradition conveyed by this stay-and-learn school.  Hands-on instruction in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine is conveyed by expert chefs of the region.  One-week or three-day options focus on various elements of traditional production and ingredients.  To instill a better understanding of how culture and gastronomy walk hand-in-hand, guests are treated to off-premise excursions that are immersive in regional epicureanism.

Study French Cooking at a Chef School in Paris

Paris is inarguably one of the most significant national contributors to world gastronomy.  American staples with distinct French influence include a variety of foods like crepes, croissants, and quiches. Other preparations such as foie gras, fricassee, truffled chicken, and Boeuf bourguignon land on American menus, by way of French culinary tradition.

Classical French technique is the adopted standard for most culinary schools, and one of the world’s most widespread educators, Le Cordon Bleu, models its international curriculums in the image of its flagship Paris academy.  Culinary students in France quickly learn the seriousness afforded to the craft, especially among French chefs and sophisticated gastrophiles.

Haute cuisine was born in Paris and standardized through the efforts of Georges Escoffier.  The hierarchical structure of a French kitchen, called the brigade system, is standard operating procedure worldwide, and was instituted first by Escoffier.

Like other metro areas in Europe, Paris restaurant culture is becoming less rigid in its epicurean role, supporting progressive modern cuisine that includes ethnic influences from beyond France’s borders.  International flavors, exotic ingredients and authentic multicultural culinary practices are well established in Paris and other French cities.

Chef students, though must place themselves in the hands of classical French training, and accept formal technical standards.  If you are eager to study in Paris, then you will adhere strictly to the kitchen brigade system, and know your place in it. The hierarchical system of chefs, cooks and kitchen assistants makes quick sense, and provides a constant reminder of the pantheon of world-class chefs who have come before you.

Birthplace of the Michelin Guide

From the world of haute cuisine, emerged the world-famous Michelin guide, also a Parisian creation. Andres Michelin published the first Michelin guide in 1900 and started a tradition that would come to exemplify modern appreciation of the finer things.

What started as a simple travel guide, aiming to assist travelers with fuel and lodging locations, has become the most respected culinary rating system worldwide. The Red Guides are Michelin’s most coveted, containing specific, and numerous, restaurant entries for each of the countries they cover.

By 1933 the Michelin guide had adopted the three-star rating system employed today.  The unique scale offers only three rating: Very Good, Excellent and Exceptional.  In the world of culinary rankings, there needn’t be more, since very good is the minimum standard toward which serious chefs aspire.  The three-star rating continues to be a rare award, with around 75-80 worldwide restaurant being recognized at this level each year.

Facilities are also judged within the Michelin guide, by way of a series of fork and spoon designations. The general ambiance of each restaurant listed lands it somewhere across a range from one through five.  Another guide feature, present since 1955, is called Bib Gourmand, and recognizes a ‘quality for value’ component of listed restaurants.

Notable French Restaurants

Part of any culinary student’s education is a thorough foray into local food culture.  French students hit the jackpot, with proximity to some of the finest restaurants in the Michelin Guide.  Sample from noted menus when possible, despite student budget limitations, and engage with culinary professionals, for a better overall understanding of the local industry.

Your job-hunt success rate is strengthened by the contacts and knowledge you acquire through off-campus culinary immersion.  Internships or short-term employment roles are also perfect for placing you behind the service lines of world-class kitchens.

• Taillevent is a Michelin two-star restaurant in the heart of Paris. The menu includesa variety of fish, cassoulet, and an extensive list of fine French wines. The chef’s tasting menu is an inspired tour of menu highlights.  The restaurant previously stood as a longtime three-star Michelin property, but lost the third star in 2007.
• Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee dishes up elegant classical French cuisine in one of the Paris’ most lauded dining experiences.
• Guy Savoy, Paris is the crème-de-la-crème, according to Michelin, serving ala Carte dishes, and chef’s specialty fixed course menus.

Popular Paris Culinary Arts Schools

Le Cordon Bleu may be the most famous culinary school in the world. This world-class curriculum was spawned in 1895, with roots going back to Henry III. The educator operates campuses worldwide, including more than 30 Le Cordon Bleu locations in North America. Expect the Paris program to be very competitive, after all this is the flagship campus of a storied world-class cooking school. A pantheon of heavy-hitters in the culinary field have honed their kitchen chops on-campus in Paris. Programs include:

• Diplomas in Cuisine, Patisserie and the Grand Diploma-- a combination of the two. Certificate programs in Basic Cuisine, Intermediate Cuisine, Superior Cuisine and Basic Patisserie, Intermediate Patisserie and Superior Patisserie.
• Workshops and Short programs include 1 to 3 hour classes, covering topical areas such as, crepes and savory pancakes, foie gras, terrines, and shellfish.
• Continuing education programs last 1 to 4 weeks and include plated desserts, chocolate and confectionery, and other expanded specialty topics.

Chef School in Vancouver, BC

Vancouver, British Columbia is a coastal Canadian city with a decidedly cosmopolitan vibe. The city has earned a reputation as a culinary hot spot, with fine-ding and culinary education taking center stage.  The city is diverse in its ethnic composition, including a strong Asian contingency, which contributes to the epicuriosity of visitors and locals.

The city draws from a pool of visitors that embrace the international flavor and Hollywood influence that propels its progressive culture.  Seafood and other local ingredients are skillfully manipulated by chefs of note, who serve the discerning palates of indoctrinated foodies.

As a chef student, on a budget, you’re invited to check out the array of annual food festivals, highlighting Vancouver’s growing reputation for excellent food.

• Eat! Vancouver – This 3-day June Festival showcases the area’s fine gastronomic contributions.  2012 celebrates the festivals tenth year, with an amped-up celebration of Vancouver’s culinary prowess.  International culinary competitions are fun to watch, and give student chef’s something to strive for.  Wine and beer tastings, at the Grape and Hop stage, help with food pairing-an economic necessity for successful restaurants.  The Food Network Celebrity Chef stage brings TV personalities to life, and plays up the talent of local Master Chefs.
• Street Food City – Surprising food, from surprising places!  Culinary graduates don’t all land in fine-dining restaurants.  Some end up on the street – in a good way.
• European Festival – The best European vendors play up their cultural heritage, with plenty of food for students to compare.

High concentrations of culinary talent are on display at regional festivals and food events.  Students benefit from attendance, but getting your hands dirty in a festival kitchen or student competition is the best way to soak-up the local flavor.  Networking and career positioning is also possible when emerging culinary points of view collide with established chefs.

Vancouver Chefs

Detailed information about local chefs and the regional hospitality climate is available from the Chef Association of North Vancouver Island. Student memberships to industry organizations provide valuable information and access to members-only educational events and seminars.  Career help from hospitality trade associations includes industry specifics like employment information relating to the culinary areas of greatest demand. Look to these, and other Vancouver Master chefs, for inspiration:

• Pino Posteraro, chef/owner Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill and Enoteca
• Karen Barnaby, Executive Chef, The Fish House in Stanley Park
• Rob Feenie, Food Concept Architect, Cactus Club Café

Popular Culinary Schools in Vancouver

Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts – Vancouver, BC -- World-class culinary diploma programs put student chefs on the trail of very good post –graduate employment. Choose from Culinary Arts or Pastry and Baking specialties within the demanding programs. Diploma programs start 4-times per year, with classes running in the morning and afternoon – Good news for working chefs who need flexible scheduling. Professional cooks and serious food enthusiast appreciate short courses that cover topics like casual cake decorating, and simple gourmet food, and wine appreciation. Intensive hands-on study situations put students to work in the school’s student-run restaurant. This popular Vancouver eatery offers seasonal fine dining options from lunch and dinner menus, and occasionally engages diners in themed special-event dinners. The experience molds students into chefs who are familiar with the pressure of commercial food production.

International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Vancouver, Dubrulle CulinaryArts Institute -- This popular program provides far-reaching culinary arts learning opportunities across North America.  With 30 locations in the U.S., the Vancouver campus adds International Culinary School credibility to a large-scale educator that is cranking out an extremely well trained corps of next-generation chefs. Poised to become masters in their fields, graduates are schooled in theoretical and practical aspects of the craft, before being set loose in a practice kitchen. The Vancouver/Dubrulle Culinary Arts campus offers Diplomas in Baking and Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts, Culinary Arts and Restaurant Ownership, Entrepreneurship and Restaurant Management, and Hospitality and Restaurant Business Management; and Certificates in Baking and Pastry Arts Levels 1 and 2, and Culinary Arts Levels 1 and 2. Emphasis is on North American and traditional Asian cuisine.

Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver – The credentials here are straightforward.  Culinary Arts training takes four months, and culminates in a Professional Culinary Arts Diploma.  Baking and Pastry training also requires a four-month commitment that earns graduates a Professional Pastry and Bread Diploma.  The heart of instruction lies in the combination study course that combines the two modes of study with a twelve-week practicum, for the most preparatory diploma offered by the Academy.  Amateur instruction is also offered to domestic gourmands of refined taste, who wish to fill the theoretical voids of their cooking matrices.

Dynamic Toronto, Ontario Canada Cooking Schools

Toronto outpaced Montreal a number of years ago in population and is now the largest city in Canada. Cuisine is characterized by a melting pot of international influences. Ethnic neighborhoods cling closely to tradition, adding solidarity to authentic native foods.  American features are present in Toronto food, as well as a host of fusion-inspired trends, born of culinary innovation.

Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean pockets of influence offer authentic traditional dishes prepared by Asian transplants who take their gastronomic histories seriously.  Little Italy is home to a variety of Italian regional offerings, in both authentic and americanized versions.

Indian food history is represented by extensive buffets and ala Carte preparations.  Portuguese, Hungarian and Japanese components find their way into progressive multicultural fusion dishes, but they are also present in their purest forms, unadulterated by inventive chefs.

Toronto’s large Jewish population assures a robust kosher food segment, in grocery stores and restaurants.  For culinary students it adds up to an exciting and concentrated exposure to world cuisine that affords far-flung gastronomic sampling, within a small geographical region.  On a student budget, the ability to taste multinational cuisine in your school’s hometown, is money (and knowledge) in the bank.

Toronto neighborhoods that inspire culinary exploration:

• Kensington Market- funky, eclectic and easily explored on foot
• Thorncliffe Park- International in residential scope, the most-represented ethnic backgrounds (and cuisine) are largely Asian and African.
• Eglinton West, or Little Jamaica places Caribbean fare on the front burner with authentic spicy dishes.
• The Danforth, or Greektown is home to the annual Taste of the Danforth festival and boasts huge numbers of authentic Greek and Mediterranean restaurants.

Toronto’s uncompromising upscale fine-dining scene is also worth a plunge. Some of these restaurants might provide apprentice and internship opportunities for you career progression.  It is understood that student budgets often don’t allow for buying extravagant meals – there are plenty of students chefs well versed in Raman noodle innovation. Think outside the box for off-campus learning opportunities.

Look to local festivals and regional food events for low-budget exposure to food trends and notable chefs.  Casual foodie gatherings are highly concentrated emporiums of culinary knowledge.  Attend, participate, and promote yourself and your culinary point of view. Making an impression as a professional cook, early on, sets the stage for future employment and collaborative efforts.  A few acclaimed Toronto restaurants and chefs include:

• Scaramouche, executive chef Keith Frogget, pastry chef Joanne Yolles
• North 44, executive chef Mark McEwan
• La Maquette, chef/owner Ange Kanavas

Becoming a Chef’s Apprentice in Ontario

Canadian culinary schools recommend apprenticeships, and in some cases oversee their administration. Chef apprenticeships provide an alternate avenue for earning your degreeand getting a good chef job. Before you are registered as a professional chef apprentice, you must earn the industry Red Seal Certificate for Cook, which requires a minimum of 1 year of culinary experience.

The mentor chef/instructor responsible for your apprenticeship must also be properly credentialed, with the Certified Chef de Cuisine seal of approval, from the Ontario Cook Industry Committee.

Toronto is a giant metropolis, over two million strong in population.  As is the case in other super-cities, the hospitality and tourism industry is thriving in Toronto. What does this mean for you as a Toronto Culinary Arts student?  You, and other well-educated, highly skilled chefs are in high demand. Your employment outlook is good during school, as you hone your craft; and upon graduation, when mobility within the kitchen becomes your focus.

Popular Culinary Arts Schools in Toronto

Vetting potential cooking schools requires focus, and a clear understanding of where your culinary dreams are aimed. Consider how well prepared your chosen school is to place you on the educational path most suited for achieving your career goals.

Liaison Culinary College --  Liaison Culinary College offers career assistance for graduates and boasts a 90% placement rate. The downtown Toronto campus is one of two LCC locations. Choose from the following Culinary Arts diploma programs: Cook Basic, Cook Advanced, Personal Chef. The diploma for personal chefs is unique among culinary educators.  If this is where you want to make you mark in the industry, consider this focused program as one of the best preparatory steps.  Students at LCC learn in a state of the art campus kitchen. Menu planning, managing kitchen staff, cost and inventory control, and guest satisfaction are key curricular areas. The very popular Chef of the Day program places a student chef the lead kitchen role, where he or she plans, directs and delivers a three-course meal to the public.
George Brown College -- George Brown College, in downtown Toronto, is one of the region’s most popular career colleges. GBC’s Chef School program almost guarantees your success in entering the field. The school makes every effort to align itself with the regional and national food service industries, to forge solid community connections that get you into excellent externships and to help you land a chef’s job following graduation. GBC offers a few of the most unique cooking programs going. Choose from diploma, post-diploma, certificate, and apprenticeship programs in:

• Culinary Management
• Culinary Skills
• Baking and Pastry Arts
• Patissier Apprentice
• Cook Apprentice

If you’re a working professional chef, looking to amplify your understanding of a particular cuisine, choose from advanced professional courses focused in subject areas like:

• Culinary Arts Italian
• Culinary Arts French

Ottawa Culinary Schools Train World Class Chefs

Ottawa is the Canadian capital city and beyond the scenic snowscapes, gives way to a hospitality industry full of culinary innovation.  The thriving travel sector that continues to fuel the demand for good food provides educational opportunities for chef students who want to learn, then earn, in Canada. Beyond food, Ottawa is huge thanks in large part to its industrial history, along with its wealth of tech companies.

Education in the Local Ottawa Food Scene

Academic chef’s training should be supported by a gastronomic foray into the Ottawa food scene. Dissect local menus, and whenever possible, engage with local chefs to bolster your understanding of regional cuisine and local trends.  Analyze chef output with an eye toward creative uses of sustainable, local, seasonal, and unique ingredients.

By investing yourself in the local food scene, you are setting the stage for future collaborations and employment opportunities with notable Canadian chefs. Dig in and take notes, Ottawa’s executive chefs are your mentors, and someday your peers.  Sample from these and other Ottawa restaurants:

• Navarra, chef/owner Rene Rodriguez
• Courtyard Restaurant, Executive Chef Michael Hey
• Foundation, Executive Chef Stephan Schuler

Choosing A Culinary School in Ottawa

Whatever your career aspirations, make sure your chosen school has the tools in place to propel your career in the right direction.  Location, reputation, and on-campus amenities are important considerations, but don’t lose sight of the most important measure of culinary school success-preparing you for a decent job.  Look for these hallmarks of a good program:

• Experienced chef/instructors, with diverse culinary backgrounds
• State of the art teaching kitchens that mimic commercial facilities
• Student-run restaurants and/or catering operations
• Internship/externship placement, with respected industry pros
• Career assistance and continuing education opportunities
• Job boards and placement help
• Chances to study abroad
• Culinary libraries

Job placement is varied across the hospitality industry, so don’t be pigeon holed by your chef’s whites.  Think outside the box for employment opportunities in diverse settings.  Chefs work at:

• Hotels and resorts
• Casinos and gaming centers
• Cruise lines
• Banquet halls
• Private homes and yachts
• Fine-dining restaurants
• Corporate facilities
• Universities

Culinary Training in Ottawa

Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute - One of the world’s most acclaimed culinary curriculums is available in Ottawa. Le Cordon Bleu, of Paris fame, teaches the same chef curriculum delivered to French chefs. The school offers an uncompromising program and earns international respect. Professional chef programs include: Diplomas in Cuisine, Patisserie and Le Grand Diplome (a combination of Cuisine and Patisserie); Certificates in Basic, Intermediate, and Superior Cuisine, and the same for Patisserie. An innovative program of Short term Gourmet Sessions provides intensive workshops that last from 1 to 4 days, covering topics like knife skills, French crepes, Spanish Tapas, boulangerie, chocolate, sushi, table etiquette, and an array of epicurean courses.

Your Le Cordon Bleu experience is not complete without pulling mandatory shifts at the student-run restaurants, Signatures and Bistro Cordon Bleu. As a student chef in Ottawa, your learning takes on international flair, as you work alongside French trained chef/instructors and multicultural students, to prepare and present food for a discerning cosmopolitan clientele.

Carleton University - Specializing in Food Science and Nutrition is another food related path embraced by culinary-minded students.  The program does not include kitchen skills, from a production standpoint, but it graduates experts in food areas that influence the entire industry.  Sanitation and regulations are well represented in the Bachelor’s curriculum. 

Small-scale cookery schools don’t graduate world-class chefs, but they occupy a relevant niche for learning chef’s skills.  Vegetarian and health-inspired academies are gaining popularity among conventional students wishing to expand topical knowledge in specific food areas.

Holistic Cooking Academy- Balancing food consumption with an eye toward continued good-health is important for home cooks and professional chefs.  The Academy trains individuals as teachers, so the message can be brought to professional kitchens in a seminar format.

The Urban Element – Fun-based instruction that brings people together in a united front against bad food. 

Learn French Canadian Cuisine: Chef Schools in Montreal and Quebec

Montreal is distinctly French in culinary flavor; and as large cities go, inviting and friendly. Culinary students who don’t speak French are at a disadvantage in Canada, because a great deal of instruction is offered at French speaking schools.  There are English opportunities, and the international language of gastronomy helps bridge the gap between cultures.

The city is an important cultural center that offers the best chance for latching-on to French-Canadian food trends, while getting a chef’s education.  Poutine is perhaps the most talked about culinary specialty.  French fries topped with cheese and gravy lures tasters, who appreciate the nuances of regional variations.  Smoked meats and other traditional fare stand out, within a bistro culture that accommodates visitors and local gourmands alike.

Creperies and cafes fully embrace the French culinary tradition – great news for Canadian culinary arts students who are waist deep in French technique, back at school.  A requisite part of your culinary education, sampling from local menus provides an insider’s vantage point for identifying authentic flavor profiles and regional food trends. 

Local Culinary Scene

Plunge into regional cuisine and Montreal’s eclectic mélange of eateries, including hidden-away bistros that feature interesting combinations of classical French food, flavored with contemporary American influences. Traditional foods in the Montreal area include baked beans, maple syrup, bagels, poutine, and shepherd’s pie. French fondue is highly acclaimed at restaurants and bistros that cater to visitors and resident traditionalists.  Properties and chefs found in the news:

• Les Caprices de Nicolas, executive chef William Frachot
• Joe Beef, executive chef Frederic Morin
• Garde Manger, executive chef Chuck Hughes

Food blogs like An Endless Bouquet are positive resources for navigating the food scene in Canada.  Up to date reviews and informal analysis of culinary trends supports in-class learning for culinary students.

While you’re learning your art, pay particular attention to the use of local and sustainable ingredients.  It is a trend across the culinary world, and one every student should recognize as a part of his or her food training.  Farms and local purveyors are valuable resources for illuminating the food supply chain. Montreal food markets provide access to ingredients and specialty foodstuffs that elevate chef output:

• Marche Atwater is a large market with vendors stationed inside and outside.  Butchers operate inside the building, along with a bakery and restaurant.  Farm fresh produce, as well as imported goods, are sold in the open-air alongside artisinal cheeses, wine, and fish. Fresh fruits, specialty meats, seafood, herbs, exotic spices, and pasta are coveted by professional and amateur gourmands seeking quality raw materials.
• Marche Jean-Talon is located in downtown Montreal’s ‘Little Italy’ district.  During peak season, 300+ vendors exhibit at the year-round market. Discerning foodies shop for farm-fresh vegetables, freshly butchered meat, seafood, spices, and of particular interest to commercial shoppers - bulk food.  Coffee and other imported goods round out the food section, but the market also houses retailers selling Italian inspired goods and kitchen tools.

Quebec and Montreal Culinary Schools

Institut de tourisme et d’hotellerie du Quebec (ITHQ) - This internationally acclaimed hospitality and restaurant industry school is located in a working resort hotel, complete with a fine-dining restaurant. One of Montreal’s best culinary programs, the curriculum provides the type of hands-on, work/study environment most desired by career-minded chef students. Your successful chef’s career hinges on experience and training, so the opportunity to apply kitchen skills - learned in a classroom, to demanding restaurant situations, is what it takes to refine your professionalism.  The program is taught by chef/instructors who bring experience from all areas of the hospitality business.

Academie Culinaire is one of the best-known cooking schools in Montreal and is accessible to both novice and professional cooks. The school also offers programs for children and teens. Cooking classes are offered in the following areas:

• World Cuisine, including Moroccan, Peruvian, Tex-Mex, Indian, Italian, and California.
• Desserts and Baking, including chocolate, cake decorating, and pastry making.
• Classics/Discoveries, including saucing, healthy cooking, fish and seafood, vegetarian cuisine, and soups.
• Basic Techniques like knife skills and equipment handling
• Seasonal Cooking
• Wine courses focusing on Spanish, Italian, French, and California wines

Cooking education comes in many forms, and as the worldwide epicurean awakening continues, schools that bridge the divide between amateur and professional instruction are upping their educational antes.  These Canadian cooking schools convey a wealth of knowledge, without implementing formal degree programs.

• Ateliers and Saveurs
• Cooking School Masala
• Chef En Vous

Sydney Cooking Academies

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is a diverse, cosmopolitan city with a robust and progressive culture, for residents and tourists.  It is the most populous city in Australia, and one of the world’s major international centers.  Sydney’s gastronomy reflects the presence, and historical influence, of a range of cultures.

Asian food plays a key role in shaping the food profile in some areas of Sydney, but the progressive fine-dining scene is not limited to any particular national cuisine.  Attractions like the Opera House, and world-class museums attract tourists, each year numbering in the millions.  The resultant hospitality industry is thriving, and provides a strong employment sector for wayward culinary professionals.

Who wouldn’t want to go to culinary school in Sydney, Australia? It is a cosmopolitan outpost of culinary innovation in its own right, and also plays host to some of the most desirable culinary arts educators in the world. Local cuisine draws from an amalgam of ethnic traditions, including Spanish and Italian influences that provide a high-concentration of learning opportunities for emerging chefs.

As a culinary student in Sydney, a requisite part of your education includes pointed sampling at the coastal restaurants, which have come to define the city’s food scene.  Seafood is a key player in the forward-thinking cuisine created by Sydney’s best chefs. Whenever possible, sample from their menus, and offer your services for special events.

Local chefs participate in a myriad of promotional food events and regional festivals.  As a festival kitchen staffer, you are front and center, for understanding local culinary trends.  Networking with like minded professionals, and showcasing your kitchen chops, are secondary benefits that come with the knowledge provided by these work-study opportunities.  Events like the Sydney Festival, a cultural gathering, are full of hungry guests, waiting for your epicurean inspirations.

• Taste of Sydney is a March food festival showcasing dozens of area restaurants and other food related industries.  Live music and other entertainment provides the backdrop for food sampling, from festival restaurant kitchens filled with young culinary talent. Quarter Twenty-One Cookery School is an inspired festival feature that hosts guest chef instructors, for the purpose of demonstrating their favorite preparations.
• Crave Sydney is a food festival that highlights all aspects of the hospitality industry, from the World Chef Showcase, to the Grower’s Market of locally produced vegetables, beef, pork and seafood.  There is a chef demonstration stage at the market, to lend inspiration to your purchases. At night, the festival is transformed into an Asian style hawkers market, encouraging visitors to sample wide ranges of small bites.  The New South Wales Wine Festival runs concurrently, providing an epicurean intersection of profound good fortune. 

What You Can Do with a Culinary Arts Degree from a Sydney Cooking School

Career options are varied for professional chefs; especially those with international cooking degrees, from reputable culinary arts educators. Every major city has a place for innovative, internationally trained chefs. If you possess drive, creativity, motivation and dedication, you’ll easily parlay your Sydney Culinary Arts education into your dream job.

Define your chef’s dream clearly, and then place yourself on the most direct path to your ideal job. Culinary degrees at the Associate’s level prepare you for entry- or mid-level kitchen jobs. Your extensive on the job experience, earned working a variety of kitchen stations during school, provides the real world preparation needed to hit the ground running with your degree.

Advanced studies provide greater access to higher-level jobs like Executive Chef and Sous Chef.  A Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Management is favorable preparation for advanced positions.

Popular Sydney Culinary Arts Schools

Le Cordon Bleu Sydney Culinary Arts Institute – Born of the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu, Paris curriculum, the LCB-Sydney programs offer the same top-notch framework for comprehensive hospitality education. Choose from degrees in Basic Cuisine, Intermediate Cuisine, or Superior Cuisine.  For interested parties, Basic, Intermediate and Superior Patisserie degrees are one-track courses of study that fully illuminate the baking, confectionery, and chocolate making arts. Certificate de Chef de Partie, and Diplome de Direction de Cuisine provide world-class credentials for aspiring chefs and pastry chefs vying for coveted Le Cordon Bleu Degrees. The Sydney curriculum adheres to the French school’s fundamental format, imparting a thorough understanding of classical French techniques and preparations. Student chefs learn from professional chef instructors who have logged experience in the world’s most prestigious kitchens. The curriculum provides opportunities to work in valuable, hands-on externships, with top local culinary talent.

Sydney Cooking Schoolis the educational endeavor of two experienced professional chefs.  The courses are designed as entertainment, and team-building exercises, but there is enough substance in the coursework to challenge aspiring chefs of various proficiency levels.

Paris International Cooking School, Sydney offers an ambitious array of daylong culinary courses, designed to illuminate focused food production areas.  Home gourmands, or seasoned cooks expanding their culinary viewpoints will appreciate the content of courses specializing in areas like Greek Cuisine, Vegetarian Cooking, Iberian Food and Classical French Provincial fare.

Cooking Schools in Melbourne, Australia

When it comes to Epicurean pursuits, there is more than meets the eye within Australia’s international melting pot of culture and cuisine. Exploring the possibilities for a Culinary Arts education in Melbourne illuminates gastronomic curiosities that provide perfect compliments to a chef’s formal education.  Metropolitan areas like Melbourne enjoy international influences that bring an assortment of flavors to the country’s dynamic food scene. Asian, Spanish and Italian culinary traditions are present alongside traditional Australian bush food.

Australia boasts a robust seafood industry centered on lobster, shrimp, and salmon.  Indigenous staples keep Melbourne chefs busy, but Australia’s extensive system of aquaculture provides even more of a bounty, like oysters, mussels and tuna.  Haute Cuisine found in cities incorporates creative manipulation of this incredible cache of raw materials.  “Shrimp on the barbie,” is a modern cliché, but it also emphasizes two important features of Australian gastronomy - exceptional seafood, and a penchant for open-air grilling.

Passionate chefs, with a zest for adventure, choose Melbourne for its cosmopolitan vibe, and culinary arts students appreciate that they can study in English. A requisite part of your education in Melbourne means tasting everything in sight. Your off-campus learning includes a tour of traditional local bites—meat pies, vegemite, and grilled kangaroo.  But don’t forget mainstream, progressive fare along Lygon, Brunswick and Acland Streets and in Southbank and Chinatown.

A few popular Melbourne chefs and their restaurants:

• ezard, chef/owner Teage Ezard – Local ingredients and over the top sensory inspiration defines this restaurant’s seasonal mission.
• Allegro, executive chef David Albert – Located in the Westin Hotel, Near Melbourne Town Hall, Allegro provides a hospitality case study for Culinary Arts students who want to see how it is done right.
• Bistro Guillaume, chef/owner Guillaume Brahimi – Culinary Arts students are right at home among the classical French bistro dishes served in the casual dining room or on the expansive outdoor terrace of this internationally inspired eatery.

Chef School and Australian Qualifications Framework

As you explore the culinary education landscape in Melbourne, you’ll no doubt encounter references to the AQF.  The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is the national policy for regulated qualifications in Australian education and training. It incorporates the qualifications from each education and training sector into a single comprehensive national qualifications framework.

The AQF helps schools set educational standards that lead to consistently well trained professional graduates.  The AQF stamp of approval lends assurances to Melbourne employers, who know their applicants have met the minimum standard.

Popular Culinary Schools in Melbourne, Australia

Savour Chocolate and Patisserie Cooking School-- This highly specialized pastry school was founded by acclaimed pastry chef, Kirsten Tibbals, one of the foremost pastry chefs in the industry today. Confectionery programs are designed for professional chefs, chef students, and for serious home bakers. This school is a one-of-a-kind, dedicated to promoting bakery arts. Classes cover topical areas that include Chocolate Showpieces, French Gateaux, Easter Eggs, Pralines, Garnishes, Tarts, and Petits Fours.
Meridien International Hotel School – Two state of the art learning kitchens provide the curricular venues for this popular Australian cookery school. Students choose from degree tracks in general hospitality management and in professional cookery and patisserie. All degrees are subject to the standards put forth by the Australian Qualifications Framework. In addition to mastering intensive coursework, Melbourne students qualify for work/study placement following a successful first-semester of culinary study. The school also offers job placement assistance and career advancement services.