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Culinary Arts Classes
How to Pick the Right One Near Phoenix Arizona

Phoenix Arizona culinary students at cooking schoolDeciding to become a chef and enrolling in a culinary institute near Phoenix AZ is a great career choice. You'll be able to earn a good income doing what you love by learning to create incredible meals or prepare lavish pastries and desserts. But now that you've decided, exactly how do you go about selecting a culinary arts institute? What qualifications should you research and compare among the contending culinary colleges before reaching your final selection? Keep in mind that you must select the ideal program and degree in order to be a success in the restaurant and hospitality industry. There are a wide range of options to select from, beginning with a diploma or certificate program and advancing to earning an undergraduate as well as a graduate degree. You may enroll in a small culinary college, an online school, or enroll in a renowned culinary institute that offers advanced degree programs. The type of degree and school you select will undoubtedly be based on how much time and money you can afford to commit, as well as your ultimate career objective. Once you have established what your primary area of interest and budget are, you can start assessing the cooking programs that meet your preliminary qualifications. Depending on the degree and type of culinary school you choose, you may be employed as a professional chef or cook in just six months. So before we dig more into the method of choosing a school, let's speak a little more about the degree and culinary school alternatives that are available.

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Cooking Colleges

Phoenix Arizona chef making gourmet food platter

Once you have made your choice regarding the type of instruction and degree that you would like to pursue, you can begin your search for the culinary school, college or institute that offers it. For instance, if your dream is to become a chef specializing in Spanish cuisine, then of course you will concentrate on those colleges that provide the proper training. Or you can pick a college based on its ranking or other factors (we'll review several of those later) and then pick the most ideal degree program available that is consistent with your career goals in Phoenix AZ. However you make your choice, culinary schools generally fit within three distinct categories:

  • Cooking Schools. Some cooking schools do offer degree programs, but usually they offer diplomas or certificates. Their courses tend to be more specialized in nature, and they can last anywhere from one or two months to as long as three or four years.
  • Community Colleges. Area community colleges tend to be more affordable than most private schools and many have outstanding programs. They almost exclusively offer Associate's Degrees and are established and managed by either state or local governments.
  • Culinary Schools and Institutes. The advanced training and degrees are offered by culinary arts colleges and institutes. Several institutes provide the most highly regarded and highest level of training in academia. But bear in mind, since they are private institutions they often can be more expensive than their public counterparts, some much more.

Picking a culinary arts institute will not only be dependent on the kind of program or degree you would like to pursue, but also the amount of money you have to spend on your education. If you decide to enroll in a public institution to lower expenses, keep in mind that out-of-state residents normally must pay a higher tuition than in-state residents. Also, numerous community colleges and regional public schools have lower tuition rates for area residents. So make sure to explore the public alternatives within Arizona as well as within the Phoenix AZ area to find the most affordable options.

Online Culinary Training Programs

Phoenix Arizona female enrolled in online culinary coursesMany prospective students may discover that there are no culinary institutions that are within travelling distance of their Phoenix AZ home. One alternative is to attend online training within the convenience of one's home. The accessibility and flexibility makes it the single solution for many students that continue working full time while attending college. Plus there are more programs online than ever before that are accredited. Keep in mind that a substantial portion of the training will be provided under an externship. Externships are programs where students work with local chefs or other culinary professionals to ensure that they obtain practical training beyond the virtual classroom. Just be sure that the online program you choose is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged organization (more on this later). And so if you are disciplined enough to be able to attend classes and study in this more independent fashion, earning a cooking degree online might be the right choice for you.

Evaluating Culinary Arts Colleges

At this point you should have decided on the type of degree that you wish to attain, and whether or not you would like to enroll in a private or a public school. Since there a large number of cooking programs in the Phoenix area and across the USA, you must develop a checklist of important qualifiers so that you can start narrowing your options. Certain obvious qualifications, such as location and cost are an excellent place to begin. But choosing a school because it is the closest or the least expensive is not the optimal way to decide on your education. There are other criteria, including accreditation and reputation that you must evaluate also. So following are some crucial areas that you should investigate for every school as you compare and contrast them and make your ultimate selection.

Accreditation.  It's essential that the cooking program you choose has some type of accreditation from either a regional or a national agency. As mentioned previously, the accrediting agency should be a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged agency, such as the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have successfully completed a comprehensive review pertaining to their curriculum, instructors and facilities. So not only does accreditation help confirm that you will receive quality training, but it may also help in securing a student loan or financial assistance which are frequently not available for non-accredited schools.

Age.  Recently established schools often have the benefit of possessing modern facilities and equipment. However, they may not have been open long enough to earn an accreditation or to cultivate a reputation. Conversely, more established schools may still be using their original, dated equipment, but have established a sustained track record of excellence and acquired one or more accreditations. Also, the much more a school has operated, the more alumni the school can reach out to for its job assistance program. Certainly there is some give and take dependent on the age of the cooking schools. And older, more highly regarded schools typically modernize their facilities and equipment. The valuable takeaway is that in the best case scenario, your selected school will have an exceptional reputation, accreditation and a state-of-the-art facility with modern equipment.

Job Placement Rates.  To begin with, find out what the graduation rates are for the cooking institutions you are assessing. Low graduation rates are signs that many students were unhappy with either the institutes or the programs and dropped out. They may also signify that the instructors were not competent to teach the curriculum. Ask the schools to supply their job placement rates as well. If a school has a high job placement rate, it will help validate that it has a great or excellent reputation within the cooking field, in addition to a large network of professional relationships. Be wary of any school that will not furnish this information.

Location.  The culinary arts college that you enroll in should be within driving distance of your Phoenix home, unless you have decided to move. You may look into attending classes online, but you would still have to travel for your externship program. Alternatively, maybe you have chosen to enroll in a specific culinary college located in another state because of its ranking and courses offered. It would be a wise decision to pay a visit to the facility before enrolling, to make sure that you are comfortable with the area and your prospective living conditions. Tour the training facilities in person to make certain they are modern and that the equipment is contemporary. Remember also that a number of schools concentrate their job placement programs within their local communities, so choose a location where you will enjoy working.

Class Sizes.  The ideal method to learn how to cook is with lots of personalized training. If the culinary program you enroll in has bigger classes, you will probably get minimal personal attention from the teachers. The best manner in which to evaluate the interaction between faculty and students is to sit in on several of the classes. Ask some of the students what their experience has been. Find out if they are pleased with the level of attention they receive in class as well as the overall training. Also, talk with some of the instructors and learn what their teaching approaches are together with their backgrounds and qualifications.

Flexible Class Schedules.  There is no benefit to in enrolling in a culinary school if you will not be able to attend the classes. Therefore make sure that the school you pick provides class scheduling that will work with your active lifestyle. If you can only attend in the evening or on weekends near Phoenix AZ due to your work schedule, verify that the school you pick offers either night or weekend classes. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, confirm that the culinary arts school has a part-time alternative. Also, check to see what the make-up policy is if you need to miss a class because of work, family or other commitments.

Find Out More About Culinary Courses in Phoenix

Find the Right Phoenix Culinary School

A successful career in the restaurant and hospitality profession is contingent upon picking the appropriate chef college. As we have discussed, there are various things that you must take into consideration when comparing schools, including their reputations, accreditation, and training facilities. As with any career decision, you need to begin by acquiring information, and the optimal way to accomplish that is by getting in touch with cooking colleges directly, either in person or by phone. If you're unsure regarding which schools to check out, you may need to consider asking chefs in your location about any culinary arts colleges they endorse.  Afterwards go on the Internet to investigate these schools even more before you contact them. By making the effort to exhaustively research each of your education options, you will find yourself in a much better position to make an enlightened decision. And when you pick the ideal school, you will have a great start toward your aspiration of becoming a chef in Phoenix Arizona.

 




 

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