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By Jennifer Croley
CookingSchools.com Contributing Writer
If learning to cook online doesn’t seem ideal to you, you’re right. The consensus among culinary arts educators is that it is not practical to provide professional-level courses online, and that’s why students can’t earn a complete culinary arts degree online. However, students with prior culinary lab experience (usually through an associate’s degree) can now complete their bachelor’s online.
For those simply wanting to perk up their baking skills or master that elusive gourmet pastry, there are some programs that provide cooking instruction online, but they are aimed primarily at home cooks, not professional chefs.
How Online Culinary Arts Programs Work
Culinary arts management is about the business and logistics of food. Business topics relevant to restaurant management and the hospitality industry are integral parts of a culinary arts management program and are easily adaptable to online education.
As with traditional programs, online students have deadlines, but programs don’t revolve around set class times. This offers students more flexibility on accessing lectures and working on assignments. The Art Institute Online and Virginia College Online both offer bachelor’s completion programs in culinary arts management. Students in these programs utilize the internet to access lectures, submit assignments, receive feedback, and discuss questions. Students at The Art Institute Online work primarily in a central online discussion area while Virginia College Online students utilize a WebCT platform. Students and instructors may also communicate with each other via e-mail or over the phone.
In general, all students need is a computer and reliable internet connection, although some courses utilize additional software.
Available Online Culinary Arts Programs
Online cooking schools are divided into two types: schools offering degree, diploma, or certificate programs, and schools offering casual cooking instruction.
Students seeking an online degree are limited to degree-completion programs primarily because providing a full degree online is not practical. Programs are also limited because earning a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts is a fairly new phenomenon. Even the world famous Le Cordon Bleu Institute does not offer a degree program.
Chef Odette Smith, an instructor for The Art Institute Online, notes that “until recently, the only degree programs widely available to chefs were associate’s programs. Now that bachelor’s programs are becoming more available, the educational standard is being raised.”
Online Schools Offering Culinary Arts Degrees, Diplomas or Certificates:
A Selection of Online Cooking Classes:
Paying for Online Culinary Arts Education
Costs for The Art Institute Online and Virginia College Online bachelor’s completion programs are similar at $392 and $400 per credit hour respectively. Although financial aid is available, funding for grants and scholarships is usually limited for online programs, so most students can expect to use their own money or take our federal or private loans. Find more information on financial aid here.
Employment
A fundamental question for prospective online students is whether they will be able to compete for jobs. Chef Smith does not see this as an issue. “As far as I’ve seen, no one seems to question whether a degree was earned on-land or online because the quality and rigor of the classes are equal,” says Smith. “In fact, many hotels and corporations encourage their chefs to go online because they are still able to work.”
Of course employment rates tell the true story, and the numbers are high for both Virginia College Online and The Art Institute Online. Don Keith, spokesperson for Virginia College Online, notes that “while we can't guarantee anyone a job, we typically place better than 90% of our graduates in a job in their field of study.” The Art Institute Online offers similar placement statistics of 90.3% for 2004.
Summary
Although limited, there are good options for students seeking to complete their culinary arts degree online and for casual cooking students just wanting to enhance their skills.
Get a prestigious culinary education at one of 13 Le Cordon Bleu programs in the U.S. Programs include: Culinary Arts, Baking & Patisserie, and Hospitality & Restaurant Management.
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