Culinary schools
• Culinary Institute of America:
The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college and is widely known as one of the top training institutes for culinary arts in the United States. Located in Hyde Park in Dutchess County, New York, USA, a few miles north of Poughkeepsie.
Academics: Bachelors and Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts Management or Baking and Pastry Arts Management.
Career Opportunities: Over 300 companies recruit on campus.
Culinary Institute Admissions Department
1946 Campus Drive, Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499
1-800-CULINARY or 845-452-9430
Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college and is widely known as one of the top training institutes for culinary arts in the United States. Located in Hyde Park in Dutchess County, New York, USA, a few miles north of Poughkeepsie. The school uses the initials CIA for itself and is sometimes humorously called the “CIA on the Hudson.”
The school offers two Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S) degrees—one in Culinary Arts Management, the other in Baking and Pastry Arts Management—or an Associate of Occupations Studies (A.O.S) in Culinary Arts or Baking and Pastry Arts.
Also, The CIA is recently offering the ACE program (Accelerated Culinary Experience) which caters to people who already have 4 years or more experience in the industry, but wish to obtain an associate degree from the CIA.
The ACE program includes the same basic classes as the regular AOS programs, however, there is no externship and some classes maybe be presented at a faster pace or include more in-depth material.
Admission requires prior food service experience for a minimum of six months, and all programs include an 18-week externship in the industry. Properly credentialed industry professionals may also apply to be tested to be certified as an American Culinary Federation (A.C.F.) master chef.
The school maintains five public restaurants in Hyde Park, New York: American Bounty, Apple Pie Bakery Café, Escoffier Room, Ristorante Caterina de Medici, and St. Andrew’s Café.
In keeping with the possibly tongue-in-cheek initialism of the school, some years ago they also founded a video and book publishing department which they named the Food and Beverage Institute (FBI).
The CIA also maintains a branch campus, the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in Napa Valley in California.
Two books have been written about the CIA The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman documents his experiences as an “undercover student” as he passes through the classes at an accelerated rate, and The Soul of a Chef also by Ruhlman, documents seven chefs taking the gruelling ten day Master Chef test held annually at the CIA, a bistro owner rising to stardom, and Thomas Keller’s French Laundry.
World’s Premier Culinary College
If you have a fascination with food, you’ll feel right at home at the CIA. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see incredible kitchens and bakeshops filled with the finest equipment and supervised by extraordinarily talented chefs, bakers, and pastry chefs. Fuel your passion for all things culinary at the place you’ve been looking for. At The Culinary Institute of America, everyone loves food.
Founded: 1946
Location: Hyde Park, NY
Student Population: 2,400
Student/Faculty Ratio: 18:1
Academics: Bachelors and Associate Degrees in Culinary Arts Management or Baking and Pastry Arts Management.
Financial Aid: 92% of Full-time students receive aid. Average amount per student: $8,500.
Career Opportunities: Over 300 companies recruit on campus.
French Culinary Institute Admissions Department
1946 Campus Drive, Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499
1-800-CULINARY or 845-452-9430
French Culinary Institute
The French Culinary Institute is a prestigious cooking school in the SoHo neighbourhood of New York City. Founded in 1984 by Dorothy Cann Hamilton, the FCI is now one of the top programs in the world. Students have a very high rate of employment upon graduation and often go on to cook in some of the world’s best restaurants.
The culinary arts school, directed by Dominick Cerrone, is divided into four levels. In Level I, students learn what the school terms the 250 basic competencies of Western culinary cooking. The Level II students perfect these basics by making lunch for faculty and staff every day.
Students in the upper two levels work in the FCI’s restaurant, L’École, located in the same building. In addition to culinary arts, the FCI also has pastry arts and artisanal bread baking curricula, as well as non-professional programs.
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The FCI’s esteemed faculty includes Alain Sailhac, Jacques Pépin, André Soltner, and Jacques Torres. Alice Waters, Bobby Flay and Marcella Hazan are visiting lecturers. Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali and Julia Child have all given demonstrations in the school’s amphitheatre.
All ten of the vast kitchens at the French Culinary Institute were recently renovated. Students have access to the best equipment as well as ample workspace. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia chose the FCI as a Blue Ribbon Expert.
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The centre of the culinary world—a place where a world-class faculty, a dedication to the highest standards of excellence, extraordinary talent, and intense, Total ImmersionSM training converge in one exciting experience that’s unlike any other in the industry.
No other culinary or pastry school prepares you for a satisfying, inspiring, highly successful career quite like The French Culinary Institute of America in New York City.
Office of Admission
434 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10013
Fax: (212) 226-0672