Auguste Escoffier School

I am loving this school. This review might not be all inclusive as of yet because I am only 3 weeks into the culinary program. So far, though, I am enjoying it and think I have already gained a ton of knowledge that I did not have before. This school is serious about getting students ready for the culinary world. It is not just some assembly line program trying to get numbers out as fast as possible even though their program is only 10 months long. I toured Cordon Bleu and it looked much more like a school setting with a lot of class time. I toured Escoffier and I felt like I was doing a stage (cooking internship) in a real restaurant. The students here are thrust into an atmosphere reflective of the actual culinary world out there. Students are expected to learn every part of a kitchen and to learn to work as a team in order to complete their cooking. Those with no skills in the kitchen whatsoever might be a little overwhelmed, but it is a great foundation to build up from. Those with plenty of kitchen and work experience might find the beginning filled with information they already know, but it can be a moment for them to take a step back and learn the refined methods of stuff they might have learned on the fly at a much earlier job. It could be harder for these seasoned students to start back at zero, but that is the life of the culinary world. A new job at a new restaurant could easily do that to a person as well when you meet a chef with totally different techniques than the last one you worked for.
In any case. The classes here are small. 10 to 20. 20 is the exception. Most are smaller. Mine is 11. We have teaching blocks of 6 weeks, each with a different chef and different style. They seem to put introductory blocks with the stricter chefs and that is a good thing because you will get a better foundation, and that way it should be second nature to a cook when he has a chef that is more relaxed in other stuff such as cleaning and knife skills. Kind of like the military, where a drill instructor breaks you down so that they can fill you up with the right info and technique for later no matter how your current leadership functions. You will have to get used to being ordered around a lot. A chef is the General of the kitchen. What he or she says goes with very little talk back if at all. Just the way the actual field works. One of the blocks will involve students going out to local farms once a week so that they can experience the Farm to Market movement that is very important today in the cooking world. I can’t wait for this part of the program!
If you are looking to go to culinary school, this place is a great choice. If you want to get a broader school style atmosphere, this is not the place. If you want to be put in the kitchen and in front of a stove quickly, this is DEFINITELY the place for you. The administrative staff is awesome, friendly and willing to help. They are a small group, but have pride in their jobs and help out in any way they can. Younger students or parents of younger students can be at ease that this staff will try to help out in any way they can. From trying to arrange housing, to coordinating students with vehicles to give rides to those that don’t have any. Check them out. They offer prospective students the chance to come in to do a class shadow day where you can spend your morning and afternoon in a real class. Perfect way for you to see if this is what you are looking for. It was for me!

I just attended a knife skills 101 class in the «Classes for Home Cooks» series at the Auguste Escoffier school and it was AMAZING. Full disclosure, I found the class on Localiter, so got to take it for over 50% off, but I truly believe that had I paid the full price, I would be gushing just as much about how great this class was.
Highlights include:
Relatively small class size (17)
Completely hands on from start to finish
High energy instructor with plenty of helpers to move things along smoothly
Extra cooking tips given in addition to just cutting
Delicious, filling meal created and cooked in class
Leftovers to take home
BYOB
I really don’t have anything negative to say about this class. I learned truly valuable skills that I plan to use, I now have two recipes that I feel confident I can make at home, and I had a great, filling meal with my man for way less than we would have spent at, say, Uchiko.
I absolutely recommend this class as a date night, for parties, as a gift, or just because it’s something cool to do.