Re: culinary school
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I play poker, but since I only play about 25 hours a week or so I have a lot of time to do other things as well. Right now I'm traveling in Costa Rica and taking spanish classes during the days.
When I go back to the states (in a few months, years, not sure) I'm toying with the idea of going to culinary school. Not because I want a career in the food industry (it's not entirely out of the question), but because I think pursuing it would be enjoyable.
My background:
I'm 25 years old, and I have a couple of degrees from good schools which I don't use. I've never had any experience in the food industry whatsoever, and no formal training. I've always loved cooking, however, and have an appreciation for good food. In the long term future I'm hoping to find a way to use my money to replace my dependance on poker, and owning a restaurant is one of my pipe dreams.
What kind of school would accept me? What kind of school should I be looking for? What kind of prices should I expect to pay? What kind of people would I be taking classes with?
Appreciate anyone with any experience or knowledge in this area who want to sharing their advice with me.
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Delgado Community College in food-obsessed New Orleans has a culinary arts program which is highly regarded. Since it's a community college based program, it is both affordable and accessible. In addition, if you are interested in learning restaurant management, the University of New Orleans has a well-regarded hotel, restaurant, and tourism program, again affordable and accessible. You could get a degree in HRT fairly quickly by enrolling in a "second degree" program--where your initial degree(s) would cover all the foundational/distributional requirements, and you would just need the courses in the HRT major--or of course you could just take the individual courses that interest you.
There is of course the obvious problem that at the moment most of New Orleans is a wasteland. However, both UNO and Delgado will be returning to their main campuses in January (their satellite and online components were operational in the fall). The great restaurants are gradually reopening, and they do need staff and will need staff, as their personnel were scattered to the winds. New Orleans has a restaurant culture unlike any place else in North America--and I would say superior to any place else in North AMerica with the possible exception of New York. (This is a city where kids collected 'great chef' trading cards--in
addition to baseball cards.)
It is a great place to learn and practice the culinary arts, and although New Orleans is definitely not at her best at the moment, in a sense people who go there now will be getting in on the ground floor, so to speak. If you are planning to pursue this idea starting in the fall, rather than in January, things should be substantially improved in the city.
I would suggest contacting Delgado and UNO to ascertain what they will be offering when.
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