Tag: Paris

Charismatic and creative chefs have impacted culture since the 1880s, when France’s Antoine Carme rose to stardom as chef for Napoleon and European royalty. Less than a century later, American Julia Child recreated the world’s understanding of French Cuisine through her cookbooks and television appearances, paving the way for a slew of celebrity chefs in the 1990s and into the next century.

Celebrity chefs earned their fame by starting with culinary school degrees or cooking in their parents’ kitchens. Some supplement culinary school or formal culinary education with natural talent and magnetic personalities to earn public success. Celebrity chefs and their cooking wisdom are available everywhere including a television network devoted entirely to culinary arts and shelves of cookbooks at the local bookstore.

Julia Child: American Chef Turns French

Julia Child, born in 1912 in Pasadena, California, got her start in cooking in the late 1940s after a career in advertising and public relations. Already a graduate of Smith College, she enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school when her husband was assigned a job in Paris. She later opened a cooking school, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, and published the famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking with two colleagues from Le Cordon Bleu. Child became one of American’s first celebrity chefs and enjoyed a long career of television appearances, teaching, and writing.

Rocco DiSpirito: Reality Cooking

New York’s Rocco DiSpirito is one of celebrity chefdom’s best educated stars. He enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America at age 16, where he earned a culinary school degree with honors. He later studied at the Jardin de Cygne in Paris, and spent two years studying regional French food and wine. Rocco rounded out his culinary education with a business degree from Boston University. DiSpirito is known for his fusion of French and Asian styles, and he has opened several popular restaurants. His television credits include the reality show The Restaurant and selling Rocco Cookware on QVC.

Bobby Flay: Natural Culinary Talent

Bobby Flay began his culinary career at age 17, when he was hired at Joe Allen’s restaurant in Manhattan. Allen was so impressed with Flay’s cooking abilities that he paid for Flay’s culinary education at the French Culinary Institute. After receiving his culinary school degree, Flay became famous for his unique blends of Spanish and American cuisines. Flay owns four restaurants, including Bolo in New York, and appears regularly on the Food Network and the Early Show on CBS.

Emeril Lagasse: Kickin’ Cooking up a Notch

Known for popularizing Cajun and Creole cooking, Emeril Lagasse first learned about cooking from his mother as a young boy in Massachusetts. He received his culinary school degree from Johnson and Wales University, and worked as head chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans before opening his own restaurants there and in other U.S. cities. He also is a famous TV personality, getting his start in 1993 on the Food Network. The word “bam” has become synonymous with his name.

Nigella Lawson: Writing Her Culinary Career

Unlike most celebrity chefs, Nigella Lawson began her culinary career as a food writer. She earned a language degree from Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, England and got a job writing a restaurant column for Spectator. She now writes for several major culinary publications, including Gourmet and Bon Appetit, has published a number of bestselling cookbooks based on her motto, “To achieve maximum pleasure through minimum effort.” Today, she hosts several successful TV cooking shows such as Nigella Bites.

Jamie Oliver: Life-Long (and Naked) Chef

Jamie Oliver began his culinary training at age eight in his parents’ popular pub in England. He worked on his culinary education at Westminster Catering College through age sixteen, and he got his celebrity break when he appeared on a documentary about the British caf in which he was working. Television producers called him in the next morning, and he began starring in the enormously successful Naked Chef. He has since written several Naked Chef books, taken his live cooking show on the road, and opened a popular not-for-profit restaurant. Jamie’s dedication to public service and to making culinary education accessible has won him many fans.

Wolfgang Puck: Charismatic Culinary Talent

Originally from Austria, Wolfgang Puck was one of the first super chefs to establish a cooking empire. His interest in cooking was first sparked by his mother, a hotel chef. Puck received his culinary education as an apprentice in the master kitchens of top French restaurants in Europe. His charismatic personality and cooking talent led to television appearances, popular cookbooks, and wildly successful business ventures. Spago, his famous Los Angeles-based restaurant, revolutionized California pizza with its menu of gourmet toppings.

Gordon Ramsay: Villain Chef or Hero Helper?

England’s Gordon Ramsay has become one of the most notorious villains of celebrity chefdom, known for both his outstanding cooking skills and abrasive personality. His soccer career was cut short with an injury at age fifteen. He began cooking four years later, working with top chefs in London and Paris before becoming head chef at Aubergine in 1993. Ramsay’s infamy has spread to the U.S. in his reality television show Hell’s Kitchen. His culinary career continues to flourish with new restaurants and another television series where he provides on-the-spot culinary education to struggling restaurant owners.

Rachael Ray: Much More Than 30 Minutes of Fame

Culinary entrepreneur Rachel Ray began cooking at her mother’s side as a toddler. Her family owned and worked in restaurants in the northeastern United States. Ray learned about gourmet foods working at the candy counter and the fresh food department at Macy’s. She opened a prestigious gourmet food market in New York but left to pursue a culinary career in the Adirondacks. She managed restaurants and taught her “30-Minute Meals” cooking classes, which catapulted her to fame when she was featured on the local news. Ray now is the author of New York Times bestselling cookbooks, publishes her own magazine, and appears regularly on television.

Sources:

“Rocco DiSpirito,” About.com
BobbyFlay.com
“Julia Child,” Chef2Chef
“Emeril Lagasse,” Emerils.com
Every Day with Rachel Ray
“Jamie Oliver,” Food Network
“Rachel Ray,” Food Network
“Rocco DiSpirito,” Food Network
Jamie’s Kitchen
“Jeff Smith,” Seattle Times
“Bobby Flay,” Star Chefs
“Julia Child,” Star Chefs
“Nigella Lawson,” Style Network
“Celebrity Chefs,” Travel-Quest
“Celebrity Chefs,” USA Today
“Celebrity Chefs,” Wikipedia
“Bobby Flay,” Wikipedia
“Emeril Lagasse,” Wikipedia
“Gordon Ramsay,” Wikipedia
“Nigella Lawson,” Wikipedia
“Wolfgang Puck,” Wikipedia
WolfgangPuck.com

A search for culinary institute online will pull up about 600 bona fide schools in which you can receive a degree in that field. A culinary art institute is usually one that caters to food service management, culinary school requirements, master chef degrees, and a host of many other things that you can think of while in the kitchen. Each culinary institute will have different classes, exams, and preparatory information in which will be needed to be satisfied before graduation. Many people get into a culinary institute with the idea that this will be any easy breeze through and they will get their degree and be working in Paris or Madre within hours. The reality of the institution is that a degree from a culinary institute, while a very good first step towards a world of culinary arts, is no way to be implied get into the highest star restaurant kitchen gold card.

In joining a culinary institute you are taking the first step in becoming a recognised culinary chef, who specialises in one of today’s exciting fields of cookery. Whether you choose a culinary institute which teaches traditional or modern cooking, you will be guaranteed a job which caters to peoples tastes. There are so many fields to choose from, and a commensurate number of culinary institutes who can guide you in this career choice. If you are looking to gaining a qualification which will not only ensure you gain a valuable skill, but also popularity among your peers, it is in your own interest to apply at a culinary institute near you today!

There are a number of cooking schools and culinary arts institutes that offer boot camp programs. One of them is the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). In CIA’s Hyde Park, New York unit, several boot camp programs are being offered. The lessons are conducted from two days to five days, depending on which program a student prefers. There are boot camp programs for baking, dinner party cooking, Italian cooking, healthy food preparations, hors d’oeuvres, gourmet meals, Asian and French cuisines and other specializations related to the art of cooking.

Serious cooking enthusiasts should consider enrollment in culinary institutes to further their education. It’s the most efficient way for them to achieve their dreams of culinary fame. A lot of hopeful for professionals are still in a quandary regarding this matter. Some of them are under the mistaken belief that everything they know about cooking can be learned from their own kitchen, with a little improvisation and intuition. This discuss whether this is true or not.

Check out the local cooking clubs and other community groups in your area. While these groups may not be directly involved with a culinary institute, some members might have had scholarships themselves. Use someone else’s experience to your advantage and don’t be afraid to pick a few brains.

The French Culinary Institute offers various part-time/full time culinary courses. FCI is reckoned among the topmost community of culinary schools in our country, and received “The Award of Excellence for Vocational Cooking School” in April 2006, from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

There are also specialty chefs that work in a kitchen. These chefs can specialize in anything from appetizers and pastries to poultry and fish. These chefs prepare complete meals, as well as decorative food trays, and they also prepare the food for presentation to customers by providing garnishes. Specialty chefs also help to supervise cooks and other kitchen staff. While studying at a culinary arts school, specialty chefs learn about all different aspects of cooking and often times decide their specific specialty while in school.

Since 1895, the Le Cordon Bleu which loosely translates to the blue ribbon has been one of the leaders in the culinary schools around the world. As of current, Le Cordon Bleu has over 30 culinary schools in 15 different countries around the world. Since its conception, Le Cordon Bleu has been recognized by the international community as the best in the world. By 1905, the institute had already accepted its first Asian Student and by 1945, it was credited as the only school in France to be able to accept Soldiers under the GI Bill.

If you are looking for professional career as chef, restaurateur, food writer or exciting choices in food industry, The Culinary Institute of America is perfect choice for having great education and a strong background which will support you all through your culinary career.