Lies My Admissions Rep Told Me

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As I approach graduation at my culinary school, I look back with a tear in my eye and a tremor of rage in my heart at the whopping lies I heard from my admissions rep. And talking to others in my school and others, I know I'm not alone. Here are some of my faves (all of which I swear are true):

1. You'll be working with only the finest ingredients.

2. You'll be able to graduate in one year taking classes only on weekends.

3. We've bought the building across the street and we'll be opening up a student-run, 150-seat restaurant by next semester (a year later, the building still stands abandoned and untouched).

4. The toolkit we sell here has all Heinkel knives and costs less than you would spend if you bought everything on your own (both parts were whoppers).

5. Our financial aid office will walk you through every step of the process; you won't have to worry about a thing.

6. After you commit to CHIC, I'll be available to answer any question you might have.

7. Our kitchens are equipped with only the best equipment, and it is maintained to manufacturers' standards.

8. Of course, you're free to visit that other culinary school, but remember they haven't been around very long, and I don't want to say their graduates have trouble finding work, but ...

9. If you're having friends over for dinner, you can come during a skill lab, cook it here and bring it home. Why not use our ingredients and get some experience? (This is expressly forbidden and will get the student expelled, but they continue to tell that one.)

That's what came to the top of my head. Anyone else?

- Steve

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 06:09 pm: Edit

Recruiters!!!!!...they say anything to hook you!
You think army recruiters tell kids they might get killed, shot, decapitated??? Hell no, just the college money schpiel and the retirement!

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 09:26 am: Edit

Did they tell you you'd be a Chef when you graduate?
Did they tell you they had a 99.999999% placement rate?
Did they tell you their students worked for the world's largest food service companies? (McDonalds, BK)....well maybe that one's not a lie!!!!
Did they tell you you'd have your own TV show in two months after graduation?
Did they tell you with that the aid of their crack financial aid office personnel your education would practically be free?
Did they tell you you'd be cooking veal but, you are making veal recipes with turkey?
Did they tell you you'd be using Saffron but it's actually egg shade color?
Well, welcome to _______________________________
(fill in the private institution name)Culinary Arts school.
I work for a public school system, so we have to do those things sometimes but, I tell the kids that up front. The cost is only $1800.00 a year also! And they get a year credit at ______________
(fill in the private institution name) that would cost them $15,000.00 a year!!!!!
By the way I have this restaurant for sale down here in FL that has a 9% food cost, 11% labor cost, and the profit margin is like 96%, if interested please call 1-800-GUL-ABLE Ext.BS

By Snuffaluff (Snuffaluff) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 09:48 am: Edit

lmao... so true. I was told ALL those things when I visited some "name-brand" culinary institutions. Funny when I went to the community college, I didn't hear any of that. Only that I'd be saving nearly 30,000k!!

By Sdci (Sdci) on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 06:11 pm: Edit

I am one of the people that runs the San Diego Culinary Institute, a small Culinary Arts School in Southern California. I was surprised to see some of the comments on this topic and I thought I’d give you this school’s perspective on this topic.

I don’t want to speak for all culinary schools; however, the information below is likely relevant no matter where you choose to go to school:

1. You will not become a chef when you graduate culinary school—unless you open your own restaurant and appoint yourself “Chef”. Chef is a title or a rank that you earn with time, experience, and talent. You don’t graduate from basic training with the rank of General; you don’t graduate from culinary school with the rank of Chef.
2. You’ll be working with the finest ingredients. Boy, there are some horror stories on these pages about the ingredients some culinary schools use. About this and some of the other comments about recruiter inaccuracies: you should make a point of speaking with current and former students of the school before you sign on the bottom line. Make sure that the education you’re going to get matches your expectations. For the record: we don’t substitute ingredients that way at our school. When a recipe calls for veal, you’ll make it with veal.
3. Placement. Where you go to work and the work you’ll be doing after graduation depends as much on you as on the school you attend, and placement rates depend on factors that may not reflect the quality of the school at all. If you don’t hustle, you won’t get a good job. No one will come knocking at your door and offer you work. You have to go out and network and make a good job happen. At our school, everyone that wants a job and that really works on it gets one, but that number is a good deal less than 99.99% placement of our total enrollment—and that may change at any minute with the economy. Some students come to culinary school without intending to EVER work in the field—they have an interest and money to burn on pursuing a hobby. Some (mostly teenage) graduates never go out and look for work. We have some students that never show up for appointments we have made for them for job interviews at first-rate institutions. These things all negatively affect our placement rate. At SDCI, many students find permanent work before they graduate because they perform so well on their internship that the hotel or restaurant hires them on the spot. We also offer classes on how to prepare a resume and how to present yourself in an interview. We have contacts with the Head Chefs at many of the area’s finest resorts and restaurants and can get an interview for a student that they would never get on their own. Another tip for prospective students: get an informational interview at the place you’d like to work once you graduate and ask them if the school you want to attend will help you get a job at their institution.
4. Equipment. Go in the classrooms and look at the equipment. Ask current students about it. This is one you should be able to track down before you come to school.
5. Visit other schools. We encourage students to visit as many schools as they can make time for. We think our school stacks up pretty well against any other out there—and we would rather have a student go to someone else’s school than to have a student feel like we don’t meet their needs.
6. Students absolutely can not use our school to prepare meals to eat at home and I would be surprised to hear of a school that allows this.

Culinary school takes time, commitment, and some heartache to successfully complete. It’s a big commitment of your time and your money. Take the time to really investigate the school you attend. Speak with current and former students, the Chef/Instructors, the school administrators, and with chefs working at institutions you admire.

Feel free to write to us here should you have any questions about applying to Culinary School: info@sdci-inc.com

By Cocinero (Cocinero) on Monday, August 18, 2003 - 10:07 pm: Edit

Yeah and how well would that restaurant go over in CHIC's neighborhood!