My education at the Culinary Institute of America (Year One)

[TheMetetron]

Good post. I never really asked you about any of this stuff, but I find it fascinating.

[Ron Burgundy]

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Proud CIA dropout! I started in the summer of 2002.

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So you went to, or at least intended to go to CIA, and you post in OOT 100 times a day, but you don't participate in Iron Chef OOT? WHAT UP WITH THAT?

[CardSharpCook]

Actually, I'll write this part breifly.

The Practical


Far be it for the CIA to allow its good name to be smeared by ill-prepared students, each student must pass a year end practical before being cleared for externship. We knew that we would have to cook one of 5 dishes - a meal for two - in something like 2 hours. We knew the meat component, and the starch. The veg would be up to use, however we were not allowed to "boil and butter" - that is boil a green veg and then serve it with salt and butter. So you had to prepare for five different meals. When you arrived, you were assigned a dish, and given a start time. The more prepared students (meaning just about all of us) were sure to go by the kitchen the day before to check out the lay of the land, where the pots and pans were located, and possibly even what veggies might still be in the fridge when it was our turn to go. When our start time came up, the chef would sit us down and ask us 10 oral questions, each worth 2 points or so. We then cook our meal provided that we got the minimum # of questions correct. We were then graded on the meal. The meal would be worth 80 points. So, on a 100 point scale we got our grade. I belive 70 was passing, and I believe I got a 72. Probably 75% of the students passed the first time, the rest needing to retake the rather difficult exam later in the week. Its pretty cool system. While it is unlikely that a student could make it that far and be unable to pass, there is the potential for a student to be carried by his classmates as much of the cooking in other classes is done in teams.

[Chimp]

CSC,

Awesome posts. These remind me of my days in c-school. Like edfurlong, I'm a proud dropout (from Cal. Culinary Academy). Thanks for doing these!

[***]

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At my last cooking job, they cared greatly about OT, so I'd put in 38-43 hours a week.

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How common is this? A friend of mine who encourages me to take up cooking just finished a year at the Waterside Inn and he was working 55-70 hour weeks. I thought this was more the standard in fine kitchens. Do I stand any chance of working regular hours if I make a career change?

[cbloom]

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Awesome posts. These remind me of my days in c-school. Like edfurlong, I'm a proud dropout (from Cal. Culinary Academy). Thanks for doing these!

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Hey Chimp, I've heard a lot of bad things about CCA but would love to go since I live in SF, would love to hear you chime in here with your experience, how it compares to the CIA, etc.

[SackUp]

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This was awesome, thanks for sharing.

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One of my best friends from high school graduated from CIA about 4 years ago. He absolutely loved it.

[Chimp]

I liked CCA. When I went (2000-2001), it was not affiliated with le cordon bleu, so I don't know what has changed.

The students and the chefs were quality people. Our schedule was much like what CSC described. Each class was two weeks long, meaning 10 classes. The program only lasted a year to a year and a half, whereas CIA was 3 years, I think. I don't know if CIA had longer classes, or more of them, or both, but it is definitely considered a superior education to CCA. My biggest gripes about CCA were the cost and the fact that there were no business classes (eg, food costs, labor, mgt). I know CIA has those. I don't know if CCA has changed this, but if not, this would be the biggest reason not to go. But if you don't want to own your own place and just want to better your cooking skills, CCA is good. Like I said, the chefs there are solid (charlie trotter went there...a proud dropout too!).

I dropped out b/c of money. I just didn't feel I was getting my money's worth. But that's not a slam on CCA. I don't know that I wld have felt I was anywhere. CIA is the best school, but it was even more expensive.

[tedfurlong]

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So you went to, or at least intended to go to CIA, and you post in OOT 100 times a day, but you don't participate in Iron Chef OOT? WHAT UP WITH THAT?

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I keep thinking about picking up a camera just so I can play, unfortunately I'm really bad at buying things. It requires weeks of agonizing over it before I drop the hammer.

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edit: oops [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[TheMainEvent]

CSC,

I don't know if this means much to you, but the Hobnobin' Pub and Toucan's are no more.