Turning Up the Heat: Post-Secondary Culinary Education

What's the secret ingredient to a satisfying culinary career? Gaining a post-secondary degree in the culinary arts! Doing so can help your clients enter the food service industry in entry to mid-level positions with continued career advancement opportunities, including managerial and more professional/technical tracks for the heartiest of chefs.

As best expressed by Provost William Reynolds of the Washburne Culinary Institute, "loving to express yourself through food is the only reason you should get into the culinary profession." Washburne Culinary Institute is one of Chicago's many culinary institutes that offer an array of ala carte (education and training) selections for Chicago's aspiring chefs!

The Washburne Culinary Institute (WCI) is a vocational branch of Kennedy-King College (one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago). It was established in 1937 - making it one of the oldest culinary schools in America. It provides affordable job training education consistent with the demands of the foodservice industry.

The Washburne Culinary Institute is now permanently housed in a 150,000 square foot facility within the new Kennedy-King College at 63rd and Halsted. It is a state-of-the-art facility and includes unique features such as "incubator kitchens" that will have six complete stations available for daily rent.

Entrée Selections

Two certificate programs are offered, in addition to a new Associate Degree in Culinary Arts.

• Culinary Arts Basic Certificate: 16 weeks, 16 credit hours. This program is designed to give students the opportunity to investigate Culinary Arts as a possible career goal. It introduces students to the commercial kitchen environment by covering safety and sanitation procedures, knife skills, proper use and care of equipment, classical cooking terminology, standard cooking methods, stock preparation and sauce production as well as what the industry refers to as basic "mise en place" -- station set-up, including chopping and prepping ingredients, setting out utensils and preheating ovens.
• Culinary Arts Advanced Certificate: 48 weeks, 44 credit hours. Supplementing the Basic Culinary Certificate Program, this course focuses on advanced techniques and offers extensive practice utilizing contemporary and classical menus. Students will receive the ServSafe, City of Chicago and State of Illinois Sanitation Certificates upon completion.
• Culinary Arts Associate of Applied Science Degree: 80 weeks, 66 credit hours. This program introduces methods and techniques that will increase the student's repertoire of ethnic and classical menus. Demonstrations and hands-on production allow students to learn and practice the techniques of food production in a commercial foodservice environment. Coursework also includes discussions on management skills, cost control, budget techniques, merchandising, business planning, resume-writing and interviewing techniques.

Who can apply?

As a community college program, students must have received a high school diploma or G.E.D. Students also must pass math and reading qualifying tests or take remedial courses. Students must complete the application process for admission.

Washburne currently has about 100 students - split evenly between men and women. The majority are African-American and the average age is around 35 years old. Only about 25% have experience in foodservice; "as with all culinary schools, there are a lot of career changers," Reynolds explains. Core curriculum classes can be taken at any community college, but the culinary courses offered at WCI usually come first.

So I love cooking, now what?

What makes a good graduate, Reynold notes, "is a good student coming in. This is where we are putting our emphasis: on getting students who have a sense of what they're getting into, are organized and motivated, and have a career plan."

An Associate of Arts degree in the Culinary Arts at Washburne costs about $13,000 and includes everything except books for core curriculum courses. Pell grants often cover most of the cost of the program. The WCI raises approximately $100,000/year for scholarships, mostly through the annual Culinary and Hospitality Showcase Dinner.

Some of the other schools in the Chicagoland region that also offer a delicious assortment of career opportunities are:

The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago: CHIC is affiliated with Le Cordon Bleu, a world renowned French cooking school. CHIC offers Associate of Applied Science Degrees in Culinary Arts as well as in Patisserie and Baking and a Certificate in Culinary Arts. For information on courses, call 888-295-7222 or visit www.chic.edu.

Kendall College: Kendall College's new Riverworks Campus features 16 state-of-the-art teaching kitchens, onsite restaurants and learning laboratories. Kendall offers a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Culinary Arts, a 2-year Associate degree in either Culinary Arts or Baking and Pastry or an evening, four quarter Culinary Arts Certificate Program. For information on courses, call 866-667-3344 or visit www.kendall.edu.

Robert Morris College: The Institute of Culinary Arts at Robert Morris College offers an accredited degree program that provides skills, solid foundation and hands-on experience. Robert Morris offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Hospitality Management. For information on courses, call 877-266-5762 or visit www.robertmorris.edu/ culinary

The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago: The Illinois Institute of Art provides three unique programs in the culinary arts sector. They offer a 2-year Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts (which includes general education classes), a 4-year Bachelor of Applied Science in Culinary Management and a certificate program in professional cooking. For information on courses, call 312-280-3500 or visit www.artinstitutes.edu.