The who, what and where of Austin's burgeoning cooking school scene

by Lynett Oliver
Photography by Barton Wilder Custom Images

Cooking, in case you haven't heard, is hot! Thanks in large part to Food TV, the network that made a celebrity of Emeril, a phenomenon of "Iron Chef" and pop icons of countless others, more and more chefs are enjoying near star status in the United States. Cookbook sales are up, as are those of fancy kitchen gadgets, and kitchens in new homes are getting more upscale by the day.

Not to be left out, Austin is right on track with the national trends. The city has a growing reputation as a culinary hub, a foodie town, and a place where people love to eat. People in Austin spend more per-capita on dining out than residents anywhere else in the United States, according to the National Restaurant Association. We also top the charts for growing restaurant options. With all that food-centricity comes a kitchen full of associated learning opportunities. Our choices include a brand new, state-of-the-art culinary academy with a French pedigree, a degree program at Austin Community College, a small-scale academy for professionals and foodies alike, an all macrobiotic school, the country's largest cooking school, and a nationally recognized resort destination cooking school.

With all those options, it may be hard to choose. Many of the experts freely suggest that people try them all. That's fine if you are just looking to improve your kitchen skills or rub elbows with chefs, rather than choose a degree program. If you're trying to make a career choice, however, you need to do your homework first.

Texas Culinary Academy

"Talk with someone about all the different avenues available (if you) start with a culinary degree," says Anika Kaye, an admissions representative at Texas Culinary Academy (TCA). She often begins meetings with prospective students by showing them a list of thirty-three career possibilities that include Executive Chef, Kitchen Supervisor, Sommelier, and Personal Chef. Kaye recommends that people have a goal firmly in mind when they begin shopping for a degree program. For those who aren't sure, she suggests taking tours, asking questions, and attending demonstrations.

TCA is Austin's oldest cooking school and boasts a swank new building and state-of-the-art facilities. TCA is affiliated with Le Cordon Bleu, which traces its roots to 1896. Originally a Parisian institution, there are now twenty-two Le Cordon Bleu schools worldwide, including ten in the United States. Students graduate with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts after completing fifteen months of intense schooling at a cost of $34,000 (financial aid is available). TCA's new ten million dollar building houses four cooking labs, a demonstration kitchen complete with multimedia capabilities, two labs for recreational weekend courses, a campus bookstore, and two student-run restaurants.

The restaurants showcase student talent and are great places to dine, especially if you're considering attending TCA. Bleu River Grille has casual counter service for breakfast and lunch while Ventana offers students a chance to prepare for work in a fine dining establishment. Ventana also gives Austin foodies an opportunity to enjoy fine dining cuisine at casual dining prices. Appetizers from Escargot en Croute to Crepes Newburg are just under five dollars while a lunch of sautéed rainbow trout with lemon parsley butter, laurel infused Yukon gold potatoes, and haricots verts (green beans) will run you about eight bucks. Seventeen dollars will get you the most expensive entrées on the dinner menu, Duck Cointreau or Tuna Maroc.

If fine dining is more than you want to tackle in a cooking school, or you're just looking for a weekend course, TCA can help you there, too. They offer courses that range from the basic to the complex, Cake Decorating 101 to The Art of Antipasto.

Raleigh Gordon heads up TCA's recreational cooking program and she believes its advantage is the association with a culinary academy.

"Classes here are taught by people who teach people to be chefs…You really come here and get added knowledge; the classes are a little bit longer. They are all hands-on. They're a little bit more intense. We have a maximum number of fourteen people in the class so there's really good chef-to-student ratios," Gordon says.

Further, she tries to make great cooking accessible to everyone. One of the mistakes people make when shopping for a cooking school, she says, is thinking they need to have skills to take a class.

"The chef is right there over your shoulder showing you what to do. It's not intimidating though; you don't have to have any basic skills to come here. We teach basic skills. We teach 'this is a cleaver, this is a boning knife.' If you've never been in the kitchen before, don't be afraid; this is the place to come. We can help. There's a level for everybody."

Courses are usually three hours long, morning or evening, and cost between sixty and one hundred twenty dollars, depending on the chef and ingredients used. TCA also offers kids' classes for ages eight to twelve in the morning and ages thirteen to sixteen in the afternoon, on a range of topics from breakfast foods to breadmaking to after-school snacks.

Austin Community College

Another place to earn a degree in culinary arts is Austin Community College (ACC). If you've been in Austin very long, you know that ACC has been expanding both its offerings and its reputation. It's the second-largest school in the Austin-San Marcos metropolitan area, behind the University of Texas. Ninety-three percent of its students pass state licensure exams. It has the same accreditation standards as state universities, and it offers one hundred forty-six degree choices. One of those is Culinary Arts, under the auspices of Business Studies' Workforce Programs.

Students can work toward an Associate of Applied Science Degree (sixty-eight hours), a Culinary Arts Certificate (thirty-four hours), and a Culinarian Certificate (twenty-two hours). Brian Hay has been the program coordinator since its inception three years ago. He says ACC's American Culinary Federation accreditation and its low, state-supported tuition-about $5,000 for an Associate of Applied Science Degree for someone living within the Austin, Leander, or Manor school districts-set it apart from other options.

"Highlights (of our program) are numerous. Class times are available both day and night, and classes are offered on a regular college course system, instead of block time, allowing our students to plan their schedules around work and family life," says Hay. In contrast, most culinary schools have students attend all day, five days a week.

The full degree program includes classes in nutrition, sanitation, safety, food mathematics, baking, purchasing and receiving, and computers in hospitality, in addition to food-preparation classes. Students also take science, art, and communication electives.

Hay says prospective students should consider the accreditation and reputation of the school as well as the quality of the facilities and the instructors' backgrounds. A tour is a must.

"I think that students should sit in a class…to see teaching styles and what is covered. The student should examine all of the class offerings to see what is being taught," says Hay.

Another important issue is cost. "Students graduating from any program will be working to try and gain their experience while building a résumé. They will not be making a lot of money when they start, so having to pay off high student loans needs to be addressed," he says.

In addition to cost concerns, the biggest problem Hays sees with people who choose culinary arts is a failure to appreciate the amount of work involved. He credits Food TV with raising the status of chefs but cautions people to consider the long hours in the kitchen to produce the results seen on TV. He also says students should consider all the disciplines that go into being a great chef.

"Most chefs are extremely talented, not at just cooking but in other areas. I can teach anyone to cook but they must understand that this is, first, a business driven by numbers and profit. You can make the best dish in the world but it may cost too much or you don't charge enough and lose money. I equate it to almost having a college degree in every area imaginable because you need to have knowledge in chemistry, biology, design, business, mathematics, sociology, etc. in order to understand your customer fully," says Hay.

ACC plans to offer recreational cooking classes at its Eastview campus in the near future.

Culinary Academy of Austin

For a choice that falls between a full degree program and strictly recreational classes, there's Culinary Academy of Austin (CAA). While they do offer casual classes, the focus is on the five diploma programs. Students can choose from Professional Culinary Arts Program (1,260 hours), Accelerated Introduction to Culinary Arts (three hundred fifteen hours), Professional Pastry Arts Program (three hundred fifteen hours), Introduction to Pastry Arts (one hundred fifty hours), and Catering Management Program (two hundred twenty-five hours). All courses are intended for professional chefs or foodservice managers and meet seven hours a day, five days a week.

CAA also differs from other cooking schools because students prepare, serve, and consume a complete menu nearly every day. Most schools teach one specific dish or technique at a time and only the chef or teacher tastes each student's work. Another differentiation is that food preparation and cost control are both taught in the kitchen at the same time. Steve Mannion, CAA director and chef, is most pleased about the school's relevance to professionals.

"We have short, professional courses of two to three months. No other school has that here in Austin," says Mannion.

While the Professional Culinary Arts Program is a one-year course, the others offered by the CAA can be completed in six weeks to three months. The design is intended to offer working food professionals the flexibility to create a curriculum specifically suited to their needs. Consequently, the cost is lower than that of an Associate Degree program. The one-year program is around $16,000, while the shorter courses range from $2,000 to $4,000.

The number-one mistake Mannion sees culinary students make when choosing a program is "doing it because everyone else is going there!"

For less career-minded folk, CAA offers fun, hands-on recreational classes. Classes are limited to ten people and run three hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Topics include everything from cheese making to regional American cuisine to exotic cuisines. Occasional two-day classes, quick lunchtime courses, and kids' classes are also offered. Kids can learn basic techniques, safety, and recipe reading while developing confidence in the kitchen. Prices range from twenty-five dollars to one hundred thirty dollars.

Natural Epicurean Academy

Another school straddling the territory between an Associate Degree program and a recreational cooking school is the Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts. This school, housed on the grounds of Casa de Luz, a community educational center that also houses a popular macrobiotic cafeteria, offers a Natural Foods Training Program as well as recreational courses and free lectures. Macrobiotics emphasizes locally grown seasonal organic produce, and balance in all areas of life.

The Natural Foods Training Program is a two-year, five-hundred-hour course that includes core classes, electives, health consultation work, an in-school apprenticeship where students assist with classes, and an off-site internship. The full program costs $7,185 and culminates with a completion certificate.

School Director Dawn Black says the program is unique in its flexible scheduling.

"Our classes are on nights and weekends. Full-time is one or two days a week, so people can still work and go to school," Black says.

The training covers macrobiotic basics like whole grains, beans, vegetables, sea vegetables, condiments, oils, and natural sweeteners. Students also learn more advanced techniques like clay-pot cooking; soy milk, tofu, and rice-milk making; and how to treat ailments with food. The program also includes courses on food businesses and health regulations. Students who complete the course are ready to work as macrobiotic chefs in restaurants or start their own businesses. They leave the program with a complete business plan that's ready to implement. Recreational students can take beginning-level courses, which are the same as the Training Program courses. According to the web site, "these beginning levels cover essential instruction in menu planning and the preparation of grains, vegetables, sea vegetables, beans, fish, and desserts."

Central Market Cooking School

For the widest variety of cooking options possible, from macrobiotic to sustainable foods to Sushi Making, there's only one place in Austin to go: Central Market's North Lamar Cooking School.

Kelly Hargrove, Cooking School manager, says, "Of almost four hundred cooking schools in the country, (this is) the largest cooking school. What that means is that we offer more classes than anyone per month and we see more students…."

The Central Market School offers forty to forty-three classes a month on a wide variety of topics. In any given week, you'll find seafood, meat, or wine classes taught by the store's experts, tasting classes with the area's best chefs, hands-on classes with cookbook celebrities, and lunchtime learning opportunities. All classes give students a real taste of kitchen life; they get to eat the results, complete with wine. While many people take the courses to learn a cuisine or technique, some see it as an alternative to a night out.

"It's a fun thing to do. It's great as an alternative to going out to a restaurant. It's a great thing to do instead of some other date thing. You get to be in close contact with these chefs that you admire for their food or their personalities or you have their cookbook and you want it signed," says Hargrove.

And, in some cases, you might end up eating a meal prepared by a local chef for much less than you'd pay to dine in their restaurant. But then, you don't get to choose off the menu either.

Not only do the class topics vary, so does the degree of difficulty. The school has classes on basics like Seafood 101, Knife Skills 101, and even a Good Cook series that teaches all the basics from finding the best ingredients in the store and stocking the pantry to making soups, sauces, desserts, and everything else. Central Market employees or Executive Chef Roger Mollett teach many of the basic classes.

Some of Central Markets' most popular offerings are their holiday and summer camps for budding young chefs. They sell out every year and give kids ages five to twelve a chance to try their hand in the kitchen. The pint-sized chefs make cookies and bars, after-school treats and gift items. It's all hands-on and there's plenty of tasting, too.

For people looking for a recreational cooking class for themselves or their children, Hargrove suggests reading the description carefully for details such as whether the class is hands-on or sit back and watch, and making sure the instructor has teaching, not just cooking, experience. Central Market's style provides easy accessibility for food fans of all skill levels. And at prices from thirty-five dollars to seventy-five dollars, the classes are accessible to most budgets too.

Blair House Inn

Still haven't found a school that sounds just right to you? How about a posh weekend of cozy surroundings, Hill Country views, and great food, with a little learning thrown in? Well, Austin (or close to Austin) has that, too. Blair House Inn, in Wimberley, is a nationally recognized, top-ranked, bed-and-breakfast inn featuring Saturday night five-course dinners and a cooking school rated as one of the best learning-vacation destinations in the country by Travel America magazine.

Cooking school students put themselves in the hands of Blair House Executive Chef Christopher Stonesifer, accredited by the American Culinary Federation with an Associate of Applied Science Degree from Hotel Sofitel School of French Culinary Skill. He was recently selected culinary educator for the board of the Texas Chefs Association/American Culinary Federation.

The school offers monthly classes (either Monday through Wednesday or Friday through Saturday) on themes ranging from Hill Country cuisine to organic vegetables and classic French to barbecue basics. All classes are hands-on and result in meals that everyone enjoys. The themed courses cost five hundred twenty-four dollars per person based on double occupancy or six hundred thirty-three dollars for single occupancy. That includes lodging for two nights; breakfast, lunch, and dinner during your stay; complimentary beverages, including wine; gratuities and taxes. The rate does not include the famed Saturday night five-course dinner.

Individual cooking seminars are also available for those who can't make the scheduled classes or want a more tailored experience. The individual seminars are one hundred fifty dollars, which includes breakfast and lunch both days plus tax and gratuities, but not the room cost.

Stonesifer is passionate about his work and pushes his kitchen pupils to learn as much as they can during their stay.

"It's like a spa school but we work hard. We do thirty recipes in three days, everything from appetizers to desserts to fresh breads, sauces 101, vinaigrettes 101. We cover a lot of information…Really, my main focus is sending them home with practical recipes they can use at home," Stonesifer says.

He has some advice for those looking for that perfect culinary learning experience.

"Really research what professor or chef or culinary educator is going to be teaching the class. The biggest complaint that I've heard is that the personality of the person teaching was not conducive to learning. They were either pushy or brash or brassy and the people didn't respect the teacher who was trying to tell them about the food…Read up on them. The school is only as good as the top chef is. Whoever the presiding chef is, read his credentials."

He recommends looking for an American Culinary Federation certification, especially for a degree program. For recreational schools, he says be sure the experience level of the class matches yours or you will find yourself either woefully embarrassed or excruciatingly bored.

Okay, let's cook

You probably knew that Austin was a great place to eat. Now you know that Austin is a great place to learn about food, too. With such a wide array of choices, there's something for everyone, even children as young as five. Whether it's a weekend getaway, a lunchtime break, a date alternative, or a career move that you seek, take a look at the accompanying article "Where to Learn," choose your school, and cook up something great for yourself.

Lynett Oliver is a foodie, a chef wannabe, and an all around fan of Austin's food cornucopia. You may e-mail Lynett at loliver@goodlifemag.com.

Where to Learn

These schools offer degree programs. Some also offer recreational courses:

Austin Community College,
Eastview Campus,
3401 Webberville Road,
Austin TX 78702
Brian Hay, 512-223-5173,
bhay@austincc.edu,
http://www.austincc.edu/dept/?id=cuar

Culinary Academy of Austin,
2823 Hancock Drive
Austin TX 78731
Steve Mannion
512-451-5743
chefs@texas.net,
http://www.culinaryacademyofaustin.com

The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts,
1701 Toomey Road,
Austin TX 78704
Dawn Black,
512-476-2276
info@naturalepicurean.com,
http://www.naturalepicurean.com

Texas Culinary Academy,
11400 Burnet Road # 2100,
Austin TX 78758
For recreational classes:
Raleigh Gordon,
512-339-3811,
rgordon@txca.com,
www.austincooks.com
For degree programs:
Anika Kaye,
512-837-2665,
akaye@txca.com,
http://www.txca.com

Recreational cooking classes

Central Market Cooking School,
4001 N. Lamar, Austin TX 78756,
Kelly Hargrove,
512-458-3068,
urcma5@heb.com,
http://www.centralmarket.com/heb/cm/indexCm.jsp

Blair House Bed & Breakfast Inn,
100 Spoke Hill Road,
Wimberley TX 78676,
Christopher Stonesifer,
877-549-5450 (toll free) or 512-847-1111,
info@blairhouseinn.com,
http://www.blairhouseinn.com/cooking.htm

What to look for

For recreational classes, the experts suggest that you check:

(1) The teaching credentials of the instructor. Not every cookbook author or professional chef makes a good teacher.

(2) Class size. If it's a hands-on class, it should be 16 people, max.

(3) The course contents. Don't just go by the title, read the description and be sure you're interested. Know if it's hands-on or sit back and watch.

(4) The degree of expertise required. You'll be bored in a basic class if you already have advanced skills and embarrassed in an advanced class if you aren't up to speed.

(5) For degree programs, look for:

(a) Credentials of the school and instructors. Is the school affiliated with another program? Are the chefs certified by the American Culinary Federation? Do they have teaching experience?

(b) Course offerings. Do they offer the right number and levels of courses in the areas that interest you?

(c) Class size. Forty is the upper limit.

(d) Scheduling. Will the class schedule allow you to work while going to school, if necessary?

(e) Assistance. Does the school offer financial aid, job placement, career advising?

-Lynett Oliver