[somapopper]

CardSharp, would you say the average grad has better, equal, or worse cooking skills than someone who spent two years working in fine dining?

Do many CIA grads land positions as sous chefs after graduation? If not, is the degree viewed as something that helps you more later in your career?

Some of the stuff you mentioned (knife skills, making hollandaise, etc.) seem like things that people who were serious about cooking and had experience would know coming in (full disclosure: my knife skills suck, and I have on occasion ruined hollandaise but I'd never try to be a cook), were some students frustrated by this, or did most come in on the same level?