# Is the Kitchen Academy a good Vocational college?



## culinarydreams (Apr 4, 2009)

Kitchen Academy ? Culinary School


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## kcma (Apr 4, 2009)

if your a good student, yes. if you're not a good student, then no. so basically, you can be very successful after finishing the program, and if you don't suceed... don't blame the school 

i say that, because most graduates are not successful, but it's not the fault of the school... other than that the school shouldn't have graduated them.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Good answer'

Every one who comes to this site ask what is best school?
It all depends on the student. If you give it your all you will get a lot out of it. If you think its show biz , think again and get out before you start. Dont waste your money and the schools time. The schools I taught in and I believe this is a good average. 1 in 8 of attending students were in the same field after 5 years. It is not a job , it becomes a life and proffession and is demanding on you and family.:chef:'


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## culinarydreams (Apr 4, 2009)

Ok I am sure it depends on me (the student) But I will give it my all and my best... I was just asking was the school known in the Culinary world... Schools are meant to teach and some schools are bad schools thats the honest truth. I wasn't asking was it the "BEST" school.


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## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

Take a look at the light colored print on this page.
Sacramento Culinary School It indicates the place is quite new on the scene. This indicates to me that it is most likely not well known in the culinary world. It also indicates that whoever has set this school up is trying to cash in on the current celebrity status of chefs.

Like other cooking schools they will teach you the foundations of commercial cooking. What you do with that is up to you after completing the program, which is the point the others are making.

My advice to you would be to visit the campus and ask specific questions about the program. Ask about the qualifications of the instructors. Get them to tell you point blank what it will cost you to go there. Many of these places get pretty flaky about being upfront with the cost. They typically don't want to tell you this until after they have a commitment from you in the form of a non-refundable deposit. Tour the facilities. Talk to current and past students.

Bottom line-- you have got to fully understand what you are going to get from them in exchange for the money you give them.


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## kcma (Apr 4, 2009)

the best answer i can give you is that i could care less where cooks come from. some of my best cooks are dishwashers i trained. 

now, i'm not saying you should just start washing dishes (although you can do that and save alot of money). when i hire a cook, i hire on 1 thing and only 1 thing, attitude. you have good work ethic, come to me for the right reason, you have a job. i dont even care if you come to me with a resume or not. 

you'll stage for me for a day, and from there i'll evaluate you, and decide if you have the right attitude. if you're a hard worker and good learner, you have nothing to worry about. 

the cooks i'm most tired of dealing with are culinary students who despise being on garde mangier, they want to cook on the hot side, they want to grill. to me that's just poor work ethic, you're still learning pantry, you still can't get your order right. i still have alot of things to teach you, and you want to goto a different station? the best cooks i mentioned, they wash dishes, they prep, they work hard. they finish their work faster than i expected, and ask me to teach them something new. that's what i want, and that's the only thing i want. and i know they'll do the same task every day, and get better every day, and never complain.


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## thecolorblue (Jan 2, 2009)

I am currently going to the Sacramento Kitchen Academy. I just started the second course (where you actually get to apply what you learned rather than watch demonstrations for two hours then sit for food safety) so I can't speak for the entire program or even most of the chef instructors.

So far, I enjoy it. The sales pitch when I went to tour felt like a used car salesman, very pushy. The first course was frustrating at the beginning. I'm in the top 3 in my class, and some of the attitudes of the other students are very lacking. The instructors didn't seem to really care, giving a decent grade to people that forgot the very basic instructions. Or even didn't prepare at all and tried to use their book rather than production notes. But now, I realize that it was the introductory class. While they were more lenient than I hold myself to, you can't expect people that have never been in a kitchen to step up and excel. 

There are some very talented and experienced chefs in the school, and they have been more than happy to help and encourage the students that seem to really want to be there and be the best. For the rest, they do their best, but won't baby you and keep checking that you are following directions. It's up to you.

Then again, remember that it is a business. They want people to go there, but they also want people to graduate so that the school looks better. As such, there are a lot of graduates that aren't as good as you might expect coming from a culinary school. On the other hand, the Honors club is very hard to get into, requiring full attendance, so it actually means something.

So, overall, I like the school. But don't think that you can go there, sit for 4 hours a day, and become a world class chef. At the same time, CIA might look better on a resume (and is 3x as expensive), but when you are in the kitchen it doesn't matter where you trained if you can't step up and bring it. Go to Kitchen Academy if you don't have much experience in the kitchen, and want some formal training. It is not the end all be all of restaurant training, but it is the first step.


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## kcma (Apr 4, 2009)

No chef that I know of cares what your resume looks like. They care that you're teachable and work hard. It doesn't matter if you went to lcb, ka, or CIA. On your first day, you're a blank piece of paper just like everyone else. So don't worry about that. You can certainly learn everything necessary to be successful in kitchen academy. Many of my favorite cooks never went to school at all.


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## sirloin (Apr 24, 2009)

I also am currently attending Kitchen Academy Sacramento, and I have to say it really does seem to be completely dependent on your willingness to learn...just like any other school. All my Chefs have been very willing to help, and have spent a lot of time reinforcing the competencies in our work. The price I payed was around 18k, though when I first started contacting them the rate was 25k, had less academic curriculum, and no servsafe training.


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