Saturday, February 27, 2010

Evaluating the Best Culinary Schools

If considering culinary schools, there are many things to take into consideration before choosing a college. Finding the best culinary schools is necessary to ensure that you will be attending the best courses made available to you. Not only are there multiple top notch schools, there are also many different types of culinary programs to choose from.

When considering attending culinary school, many first ask, "What is the best culinary school in the USA"? There are many ways to evaluate a school's academic offerings, and what the school can do for you. But, just because you find an institute to be the best for you, it may not be as great to someone else. There are many
factors one must first consider when evaluating the best schools.

Culinary School Ratings
Taking a look at a schools rating (or ranking) has been a way to identify which schools rate as the best culinary schools. These ratings are placed in bulletins (such as the Princeton Review). These ratings issue the "top 10 best culinary schools". According to the ratings, the top ten in the United States are as follows (not in order):
1. Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute
2. The French Culinary Institute of New York City
3. Johnson & Wales University
4. The Culinary Institute of America
5. New England Culinary Institute
6. California Culinary Academy
7. George Brown Chef School
8. Tante Marie's Cooking School
9. Kendall College
10. L'Academie de Cuisine

These are based on reviews from critiques. Remember, information such as this can be based on advertising and other strategies that some may not see as "top school" information. There are thousands of top notch schools, don't limit your searches just because of the "top ten" that are recognized.

Finding the Best Culinary Schools
Each person comes with different learning styles and demands. The only way to choose the "best" school is to research the schools personally. There are certain things that are important to you, that may not be important to others. By recognizing these things and looking for schools that satisfy those needs, you will find the college that will work best for you and make you happiest.

What to Look For
Location.
The importance of location varies for everyone. Some people want to stay closer to their home states while others want to travel. Based on your needs, look up a school with locations that pertain to your situation.
Cost.
While most schools accept financial aid, you must be aware of those that do not. If you are relying on financial aid to cover your schooling, take this into consideration. You may also want to look into some scholarships that the school may offer.
Course Types.
Online schooling has become very popular. Based on your schedule and your learning style, if you want to pursue schooling online, make sure the schools you're looking into offer online courses. You should also look into the types of courses they have. If you are going into a specialized field, make sure they offer the courses you desire.

Only you can choose what makes the best culinary schools. Your lifestyle and your needs will help shape your decision.

My dad was a shipping magnet and because of that, me and my family had to travel with him constantly.I gained a lot of knowledge through that. With my dad's influence I went into importing and exporting and this kept me on the road. I am settled now in one place and find it most fulfilling in writing articles. View more articles by Marc Willis at http://www.culinaryschoolsreview.net.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Cooking Classes - How to Select One That is Right For You

In order to do this, however, it is very important that you choose the right cooking classes to go on so that you do not end up wasting time and money learning things that you might already know or are not as interested in. Here are a few tips.

First of all, contact local colleges. They will offer a lot of different classes that you can choose from and most of these will be open to the public and will cater for all levels of experience. Often they will be taught at the evenings and weekends which make then very convenient.

Next, you need to consider your own current level of skill. This will make sure that the classes that you choose to sign up to are not either too simple and boring for you or too complicated and advanced for you to grasp. Choose a class that is going to be perfect for your level of skill.

You should also carefully read any descriptions about the class. This will include all of the relevant information about the class such as the date and time and duration of it.

You also will want to think about the cost. Price is obviously going to be a significant factor and some classes can be more expensive than you might be willing to pay. Therefore you need to make sure that you take your time and check through the entire range of prices before you make your choice.

Last of all, make sure that you choose a class that is actually going to work for you and be useful. You might think that Chinese cooking techniques are interesting but if you are not actually going to be using the skills you learn, its best to go for something more practical.

To find out more about cooking education online, go to this cooking classes website, and read about cooking class to help you choose what schedule and education is right for you.