The best culinary schools will help you develop a strong foundation in cooking skills and techniques. Some will also offer hands-on opportunities to learn the business of running a restaurant. The best colleges for culinary arts also have low tuition rates and a high rate of student placement. Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska, for instance, is a top-rated school with courses centered on restaurant management and chef training. Its chef training programs follow the techniques of the king of chefs, Auguste Escoffier.
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is another well-known culinary school. It has campuses in New York, California, and Texas, and it offers a variety of degrees. Its professional Master Chef Certificate Program, for example, can help you build your career as a chef or food service director.
A prestigious accolade that many professional chefs strive to earn is a Michelin star. The stars are awarded to restaurants that serve high-end tasting menus and have a hyper-focused sense of place. Osteria Francescana, which has taken the number one spot on this list twice, focuses on dishes that are native to its Emilia-Romagna region. Noma, which once dominated the list, championed the movement known as New Nordic cuisine, which rejects imported ingredients in favor of foraged foods and locally-grown produce.
This award is based on the aggregated scores of over 1,080 professional chefs, food writers, and other well-traveled culinary professionals. Judges are asked to remain anonymous, and they cannot vote for restaurants in which they have a financial stake or have dined at within the past 18 months. The result is a list that celebrates the universality of cuisines around the world.
While these lists can be helpful, nothing replaces the hands-on experience of learning to cook at a culinary school. If you’re interested in a career as a chef, there are many schools in the United States that can provide you with the best culinary education. The best culinary schools in the US will offer expert instruction and plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning.
If you’re not ready to jump into the kitchen right away, there are several books that can teach you more about food and its history. MFK Fisher, who wrote The Art of Eating, is a wonderful writer, and her Food in History provides a global perspective. Food in History also examines the social, economic, and political reasons why different cultures eat and don’t eat certain foods.
If you want a more intimate look at the culinary world, there are several cookbooks that feature the personal stories of chefs and their experiences. Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour, for instance, is an unromantic and sometimes disturbing account of the challenges of working in the restaurant industry. In addition to his own story, the author explores other chefs’ experiences.