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A culinary career is becoming an increasingly common choice among young college graduates. Due to this influx in popularity, there is now a wide array of choices when it comes to cooking schools. If you are interested in the field of culinary arts, then the first thing you need to do is decide which area you wish to explore.

At most cooking schools, the courses will be broken down into more specific areas, depending on your interests. You could focus on baking desserts or even on mastering full-course meals. The beauty of these schools is that you can expand your goals at anytime in order to add more expertise to your plate.

Another reason that culinary arts programs are becoming so popular is that they typically allow you to achieve your credit in less time. Some programs can have you settled into your new career in as little as 36-weeks. Compared to other programs that take years to complete, this edge will get you into the work force faster.

If visitors to Oaxacan cooking school La Casa de los Sabores came away with nothing more than great recipes and a gastronomic meal rich in unique herb- and spice-accented flavor combinations that are the hallmark of Oaxacan cuisine, they would leave fully satisfied. But a visit with owner and chef extraordinaire Pilar Cabrera also inspires and sates travelers with a sensual day-long immersion into sights, sounds, smells and, yes, tastes and time-tested recipes of southern Mexico.   
As always, a recent culinary odyssey with Pili, as she is known, began at La Casa de los Sabores first thing in the morning – at 9:30 a.m. Over the next few hours, she introduced  me and the others in the class to the wisdom and experience of her great matriarchal culinary tradition.  Pili learned the basics and the subtleties, including the mysteries of the famed seven moles, from her grandmother, who learned from her grandmother before her. She is a Oaxaca-born master of southern Mexico cookery as well as international epicurean trends, capable of sharing the secrets of preparing the most multifarious meal with novice and expert alike – in English and in Spanish.
Our day began with Pili’s informal talk about the menu and the foods she was going to introduce us to in one of Oaxaca’s colorful markets. The extra attention to the key ingredients of Oaxacan cuisine kept us spellbound. “What we will achieve today with the chilis,” she told us, “is hot and tropical … with the Chile de agua, you will see we use it not only for flavor but color as well, and I will teach you how we keep this beautiful, brilliant green.”
Once prepared with this knowledge, we all embarked on a shopping trip to the well-known marketplace, Mercado de La Merced, armed with multihued bolsas – market bags – to carry the compras – purchases.  Pili had readied a partial shopping list, but, she advised us, she always adds “surprises,” such as fresh foodstuffs which peasant women from the mountains sometimes bring down.
 
“When you have a chance to find something real special or unusual, you buy and incorporate into the comida,” she explained.  “Today, for instance, we look for mushrooms, because they grow so beautifully in the rainy season. Also, we will see what kind of fresh fruit we can use for the dessert.”
 
Her insights into the unique stores and small factories enriched the short walk to the market. A rich bouquet drew us into a mill that was making chocolate from scratch. As Pilar told us about the ingredients – cacao, cinnamon, almonds and sugar – the owner welcomed us with, “do you want to taste?” 
 
The lesson began in earnest when Pilar began methodically searching through the indoor and outdoor portions of the marketplace and exchanging pesos for its plethora of fresh produce.
 
“Look at that lady sitting there, what she has in those bowls,” she said. “She just brought those raspberries and blackberries from the Sierra Juarez.  We can use them for the dessert. Notice how fresh and beautiful.  The mushrooms beside them, see the size, how big and the bright orange color … this is the time of year, but not for our recipe today … Over here, we don’t buy the big green tomatillos.  I prefer the little ones grown locally because they are not acidy like the others, and they have much more flavor, perfect for the salsa we are preparing today.” 
 
She encouraged us to smell the herbs as she explained their use in particular Oaxacan dishes. “Today we use this hierba santa for the mole,” she said as she was examining samples of the fragrant leaf until she’d found the best and freshest for storage in one of our bolsas. “But we also use it to wrap fish and make tamales.”
 
Lynet who had been in Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan coast for six months, expressed the wish of many as she lamented, “I wish I’d been in this class at the beginning of our trip.”
 
Our enthusiasm and our appetites grew once we returned to Doña Pili’s well-equipped, spacious kitchen. Its wide counters, food preparation island and eight-burner gas stove opening onto the lush courtyard dining area made this cocina into an ideal classroom.
 
While we were reviewing printed recipe sheets for the dishes we were about to prepare, she displayed our purchases in baskets filled with the components of each recipe to help us learn why we bought what. Then we spent the next two hours preparing a sumptuous four-course meal.
 
Mary, her sous-chef, did preparatory work such as halving limes, slicing chilies and preparing chicken stock and poultry for the mole, freeing Pili to teach us the rituals and secrets of Oaxacan culinary seduction. Sparks from Pilar’s hearth of experience ignited even the most learned in the class as she pointed, touched, and passed around each item we purchased, telling us how it would be incorporated into the meal.
 
Once the actual cooking began, she put her bilingualism to good use, giving instructions and asking questions in one language, then repeating it in the other, as required by some of her visitors.  “Necesito otro ayudante para quesillo, I need another helper for the cheese.” Pilar might as well be a Maestra de Español, a Spanish teacher to boot. 
 
Everyone learned each task and participated in the preparation of virtually all menu items. And as the group peeled, diced and sautéd, Pili’s gems of information flowed on.
We learned much more than how to achieve flavor. Pilar taught us techniques on how to attain desired tones and textures: “A lot of people ask me about cleaning mushrooms,” she said at one point, demonstrating the correct technique. “Now watch to see how we clean and seed this kind of chili,” she pointed out while preparing chile guajillo for the mole. “Once we start cooking these chile de agua, we need to remember to always check them and turn them constantly.”
“Look for the hot part of the comal … now this is when you know when to turn it over,” she said while demonstrating the art and science of making tortillas.
 
Every once in a while a new recipe rolled off the tip of her tongue as we worked … other dishes we could prepare with this particular mole; different fillings for the quesadillas such as potato, chorizo or huitlacoche, the exotic corn mold … the texture we would want for the corn masa if we were making tamales rather than tortillas. 
 
Soon, aprons removed, we were ready to feast. But first – “now before we sit down, remember in the market I told you there were two types of gusano worm?  Here they are, so who wants to try?” she asked. “Now know about mezcal.  Taste this one Alvin brought, and tell us how it seems to you.  Here’s another kind.  What do you think is different about this one?”
 
We sat down at a table exquisitely set with local hand-made linens, dishes and stemware. Bottles of Mexican and Chilean red wine were already breathing. The fine music of Oaxacan songstress Lila Downs serenaded us in the background.   
 
Pilar reminded us that her grandmother and other relatives usually prepare their comidas with meat and all vegetables mixed together in the mole, a plate of rice on the side, and a bowl of broth. But our meal, like all the recipes she prepares with visitors at La Casa de los Sabores, would be her modern take on all the elements and flavor combinations of the best that contemporary Oaxacan cookery has to offer.
 
It was a celebration of every ingredient. We began with wild mushroom, onion, tomato, chili and cheese stuffing in the quesadillas de champiñones (mushroom quesadillas), complemented perfectly by smoky salsa verde asada (green sauce from the grill) served in its molcajete. Then it was time to calm our palates with bright yellow crema de flor de calabaza (cream of squash blossom soup), garnished with a drizzle of real cream, toasted calabaza seeds and indeed fresh squash blossoms. The main course or plato fuerte was mole amarillo – tender slices of chicken breast atop a sea of aromatic deep saffron-colored mole, accompanied by a medley of crunchy-fresh steamed vegetables. To conclude, arroz con leche (rice pudding), speared with a length of wild vanilla bean and crowned with berries that had been picked only the day before.
 
I left convinced that the grandest chefs at the most trendy Manhattan beaneries would be hard-pressed to compete with this petite Oaxaqueña’s ability to marry the region’s complex cooking with post-modern attention to color, texture and flare. For Pilar Cabrera, it comes naturally. For the rest of us, it comes with a visit to her home.  
 
La Casa de los Sabores Cooking School is located at Libres 205, in downtown Oaxaca.  Maximum class size is 8, with private lessons available upon request.  You can register for Pilar’s classes by calling (951) 516-5704 or e-mailing her at: bbsabores@prodigy.net.mx

Written by Alvin Starkman our expert of the day.

Alvin Starkman  M.A., LL.B.
 
Susana Trilling and her staff offer a marathon culinary experience of bacchanalian proportion.  Location of instruction is shared between the Wednesday Etla marketplace, and Susana’s traditionally styled, large kitchen complex near San Lorenzo Cacaotepec, a village located between Oaxaca city and the town of Etla. 
 
Susana herself needs no introduction, having established an impressive pedigree of culinary greatness dating back 30 years, the last 20 of which having been spent residing in Oaxaca. 
 
At 9 am sharp a van pulls up to a downtown Oaxaca hotel, the pre-arranged meeting place, and picks us up, an assorted group of 12 ranging in age from 9 to 60ish.  All I knew was that we were off to a local market for some tasting, a light meal and purchasing ingredients for the cooking lesson, followed by the comida we were to prepare. 
 
We arrived at the bustling and colorful Etla marketplace after about 40 minutes, and were greeted by Yolanda, a member of Susana’s staff.  It quickly became apparent that Susana would not be with us in the market.  Someone asked if Susana would be giving the class, and Yolanda’s response was somewhat affirmative:  “Yes, I think we’ll all be there for the class.”
 
Yolanda’s English was excellent, but just as important, her knowledge was extensive.  She took us for an extensive, magical market tour, explaining about the town and surrounding villages, who comes from where to attend the market, and what the region is best known for. She stopped at several outdoor stalls to provide explanations of what we were seeing, ranging from produce to cooking utensils.  Tidbits of information seeming to supplement a fixed format easily rolled off her tongue, both in response to questions asked, and of her own accord:  “Do you want to know where your chewing gum comes from, well here’s the fruit, the chico zapote.  Everybody taste it.  What do you think?”
 
Chico zapote was the first of twenty or more samplings in the market, each providing a burst of a uniquely different flavor, and accompanied by an explanation as to differences between seemingly like foodstuffs, and when and how they are customarily eaten:  a half dozen different tamales from a local vendor who attends the market with steaming offerings; distinctly different breads and rolls for dipping chocolate, making sandwiches and other traditional usages;  the three varieties of Oaxacan cheeses most commonly encountered;   ice creams known as nieves, flavored with pecan, another with lime zest, with a third being  an egg yolk – cinnamon concoction known as sorbete.
 
“Remember I explained to you about the different types of molcajetes or hand grinders for milling all kinds of things, well here’s one of the uses, to produce the zest use to make this wonderful lime ice.  Taste the freshness, and distinct difference between what you’re probably used to having made with lemon or lime juice, and what these small key limes can produce?
 
“And here’s a little tip for you, if you want your hot chocolate to be frothy, don’t boil your water and chocolate at the same time, otherwise you’ll never get that foam on top.”
 
Yolanda spends extra time identifying chiles and explaining their uses, not at all unexpected given the importance of chiles in Oaxacan cookery.  She explains the uses of the nopal cactus, and then when we walk by some fava beans she comes back to how nopal and fava can be used together.  She once again refers back to the nopal when we see mounds of prickly pear, or tuna as they’re locally knows.  She stresses which are used for eating, and which for making a fresh sweet juice or a sherbet, and from what type of cactus each is derived.
 
Our medical lesson begins with a stop by the lady with bundled fresh herbs on the ground, and continues at the booth of the vendor selling dried and boxed local remedies.  One in the group simply can’t resist the opportunity to buy a local product for whatever was ailing him.  I didn’t ask.  Another picks up a 15 peso amulet from Chiapas known as ojo de venado (literally deer’s eye), to give to a friend back home with a different infirmity.
 
“Now before we sit down for a light lunch over here, let’s sample what these women over there are pouring.”  Of course it’s tejate and chilacayota, the two most popular drinks traditionally prepared in local markets, which to the untrained tourist would normally be a no-no.  “Don’t worry, everything you eat here in this market with me is safe.”
 
We sit down alongside some locals, at a long white ceramic tile lunch counter with women at the grill behind.  Our choices are enchiladas, entomatadas and enfrijolandas, each drenched with a different salsa or mole over softened tortilla, garnished with cheese and sliced white onion. I request an extra small serving (“only one enchilada please”) but a full meal, albeit one item . . . oversized, arrives.  I eat it all anyway. 
 
“Now why don’t you all wander around on your own for a half hour, perhaps buy some things that caught your eye earlier, and we’ll meet back at the van where we started out, let’s say at 12:30.” 
 
It’s now after 1 pm.   We traverse the countryside over dirt roads en route to the Trilling kitchen, with a strong feeling of anticipation.
 
Clad in white blouse and skirt, an angelic looking Susana warmly greets each of us individually, and welcomes us into a most impressive and spacious dome-topped kitchen and dining area with adjoining gift shop. “Please, make yourself at home, we have two washrooms, there are a couple of types of fresh fruit juice, and coffee. Pick up your recipe outines.  We’ll be starting shortly.”
 
There is now a staff of five milling about, consisting of Yolanda, Peg who appears to be Susana’s administrative assistant, two kitchen staff, and Jesús, a young helper-for-all Seasons.
 
It’s now approaching 2 pm.  Susana begins her lecture regarding Oaxacan cookery, in detail explaining every recipe which is before us in a series of printed pages.  She notes that her book is for sale, about her PBS television series, and regarding the mezcal being offered as a courtesy of the house, also for sale:  “The owner of the mezcal factory is a friend of mine.” She continues:  “I’d like to introduce you to Don Alejandro Lopez Juarez, a gentleman who lives one village over, and carves and paints wooden figures together with his wife.  You know his arthritis is pretty serious now, so there’s not much work he can do.”  Don Alejandro gingerly removes from his bag and carefully unwraps about ten simple, rustic carved painted pieces, generic cattle they would appear to be, and places them on the table, for sale. 
 
We’re comfortably seated while Susana lectures for just over an hour, detailing each of the five principal recipes we’ll be creating, peppering her oratory with interesting and informative anecdotes and gems:  “No, estofado which we’ll be making today isn’t one of the seven moles, but rather a stew; however just so you’ll know, the moles are….and the difference between them and stews are….” 
 
Susana provides invaluable information about substituting one ingredient for another, helpful to both vegetarians and those who live in parts of the US or further abroad where encountering select ingredients can be challenging.  She plugs a couple of books which appear to be dear to her heart, In Defense of Food and The Omnivorous Dilemma.  She urges us to buy books at our local bookstores rather than via the internet with a view to supporting neighborhood economies.   Susana’s motivation is clearly a sincere attempt to foster patronage for worthy causes, local business,  and people for whom she cares. 
 
Yolanda hadn’t bought any ingredients for the class during the market tour.  All was displayed for us in Susana’s kitchen, for our arrival, the ingredients for each recipe laid out in a wicker basket with instruction sheet atop. As Susana begins to explain each recipe, Jesús brings over the appropriate canasta.  She details how we’ll be creating each of the following:
 
1)     A fairly complex appetizer dish from the Yucatan known as Salbutes;
2)     Green salad with jícama, guava and pumpkin seeds;
3)     Chilled chayote bisque;
4)     Spanish chicken stew with capers and olives (Oaxacan, though imported from Spain during colonial times);
5)     Layered mango pudding or “charlottle.”
 
“Now tell me who wants to make which dish, but first let me recap what we’ll be making, because I know it was a lot to take in.
 
“Let me tell you where the stations are.  Here’s the soup station, over there is the pastry department, and just so you know, we’ll be using the outside kitchen for toasting seeds since it can get pretty smoky.
“Please, couples split up.  That way you’ll get a more diverse learning experience.”
 
It’s now 3 pm, and each group of two or three begins to gather at its designated area.  Everyone mills about, initially a bit confused, but quickly realizing that the staff, in particular the two women assistants, are there, at our disposal.  Yolanda leaves at some point during the afternoon.  Susana is present in the kitchen assisting roughly half of the time, more so after about the first hour.  Jesús ensures that beer flows freely. 
 
With Susana’s fine orchestration, all miraculously comes together.  “Who wants to help set the tables?”  The meal is served, Susana joining us and paying tribute to her staff, to our toasting and applause.  Presentation is exquisite, with flavor and texture of each dish unparalleled.
 
But alas, all good things must come to an end, with Susana signing a couple of books, and bidding farewell to each, as we board the van.  We arrive at  downtown Oaxaca around 7:30 p., after a very full day. 
 
Susana appeared to be present with us for about three and a half hours of this all encompassing gastronomic experience.  Her staff was extremely knowledgeable and helpful, all that one could want, and more.
 
As an aside, I was subsequently advised by Peg, the administrative assistant, amongst other things, that Yolanda Giron is the main leader of the market tour these days; that Susana is in fact on site from when a class arrives at the school, until it departs; and that at times the group is large, 20 people used as an example.
 
Seasons of My Heart:  http://www.seasonsofmyheart.com
T:  951-505-0469;  E:  info@seasonsofmyheart.com

Written by Alvin Starkman our expert of the day.

Culinary cooking schools are a wonderful career option if you’ve always loved good food and are interested in cooking or running a restaurant. Today’s culinary schools not only teach you how to prepare complex dishes, but how to choose the proper ingredients with an eye for quality products and properly managing a professional kitchen. But with culinary cooking schools springing up across the country, you will need to find one that will give you the best possible education.

There are several things to consider that will ensure you are getting not only a superior education, but one that will open doors for you when you enter the restaurant and hospitality world as a chef.

Accreditation by the American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation is an organization of professional chefs that monitors and reviews restaurants, catering services and culinary cooking schools and provides a variety of services to its members. Accreditation by this group means the school has met certain strict standards.

Working at a job you dislike, day after day, can be tiring. Most people don’t think they have a choice. Nothing could be farther from the truth! A variety of creative, interesting jobs are available in today’s job market for those individuals willing to seek them out. A perfect example: there are many culinary jobs available that would make use of your natural enjoyment of cooking. Even if you don’t have any culinary work experience, there are many cooking schools with associate and bachelor’s degree programs that will help you get the culinary job of your dreams.
Cooking schools plan their degree programs to cover all aspects of culinary jobs, so that students will be fully prepared as they enter their new career. Cooking schools usually have associate’s degree programs for students who would like to pursue basic careers in the culinary arts, with bachelor’s degree programs for more ambitious students. Some cooking schools may even hold recreational classes for students who simply love to cook. There are culinary schools offering associate degrees in the culinary arts and the confectionary arts, a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts management, and a variety of evening and weekend recreational classes.
There are a variety of skills and information that cooking schools will teach in their courses. Anyone who works with food should be familiar with topics such as food sanitation, food storage, and basic food production skills, making these important parts of most cooking schools’ programs. Most cooking schools also offer courses on basic nutrition, menu planning, and various cultural and international cuisine, preparing students for a variety of cooking jobs. Some programs may include more specific courses, such as classes that teach special cooking skills, such as baking. More advanced programs, such as a culinary arts management program, may include classes on business management or hospitality law.
An education at one of the cooking schools in your area can prepare you for a number of jobs in the field. There are a number of cooking jobs, everything from food preparation positions, in which the cook mainly assembles the ingredients for complex dishes, to positions that involve more responsibility and decision-making skills, such as the head cook or a cook employed in a private home. Even culinary workers such as some service workers and fast-food or short-order cooks need to have a solid understanding of food sanitation, food storage, and other skills that cooking schools teach.
Even if you don’t know much about cooking, you probably know whether or not you enjoy cooking. If you find that you look forward to making dinner throughout the day, or that you delight in finding, or even making up new recipes, you might enjoy pursuing a career in the culinary arts. An education from one of the cooking schools in your area will help you in finding the culinary job of your dreams.

Written by Andy West our expert of the day.

Culinary arts school is the educational institution that teaches the students about cooking art, meaning, about cuisine or food preparation. Arts cooking schools are evolving enormously and many people are now keenly interested in enrolling into top universities of culinary arts schools. This is because cookery arts have a bright career in a student’s life. In fact, at present, the top universities in all nations are witnessing massive number of students coming for admissions every year.

At present, with the competitive industry of restaurants, hotels, resorts and food service parties, the significance of cooking arts schools have increased furthermore. The main aim of cuisine arts educational institution is to teach the students about superior arts of cuisine. The culinary art is mounting at a tremendous speed, and hence there is a need of professional schools to manage the industry with prosperity.

The culinary art will not be anymore considered as simple and easy. In fact, the gastronomic art is linking to a lot of proficiency and innovation. Thus, many aspiring students are now applying for culinary universities to take this as their professional occupation. Myriads of culinary arts schools that have evolved around the world just do not to teach the basics, but also some peculiar field of culinary such as sauces, desserts, knife skills, wine class, and pastry class, preparation of healthy food and, course for making fine chocolates.

You’re off to Italy on a cooking school tour you’ve been dreaming of for years, perhaps in the magnificent Barolo wine country in Piedmont or on the east coast in Sicily with views of the Mediterranean and snow capped Mount Etna.

You want to enjoy your sensual experiences in Italy to the maximum: the beauty, the countryside, food, cooking lessons, wine tastings, sightseeing excursions and visits with local people.

Here are four detailed tips on getting all the joy possible out of your Italian cooking school tour, gleaned from my 12 years of experience creating and leading cooking tours in Italy.

1. Many cooking school tour members tell me, “I’ve eaten too much! There’s too much food. I’m a food lover so how can I discipline myself when everything is SO delicious.”

Find out what is on your lunch or dinner menu so you can pace yourself. That way you avoid eating a lot of one course only to find three more courses are coming and you don’t have room for all the wonderful food.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of going to culinary school to become a professional chef or start a new career in hospitality management? Maybe you want to go to school just to be a better cook at home? The good news is there are a lot of great schools and colleges in every state to help you accomplish your goals.

Based upon the number of cooking schools opening each year, there must be a lot of folks interested in getting into the culinary world. I recently read an article in our local newspaper about the growth in local culinary schools, and the numbers surprised me. It appears that supermarkets, gourmet stores, local restaurants, colleges, ex-chefs, and just about anyone else who has the room and expertise is putting on an apron and opening a school.

Many of these schools are there for absolute beginners who just want to learn how to boil water and get around in the kitchen without hurting themselves. These classes tend to be more fun where you watch a professional chef prepare a meal and then you get to share it with the rest of the class. It’s a good way to meet some interesting people, learn a few culinary tricks, and taste some delicious food.

Culinary Arts schools are the places where cuisines are taught. In recent days, cooking has become an art, rather than only cooking. There are many specialties in cuisine that could make an individual a professional chef, either for certified reason or just for amuse. They offer fundamental teaching related to cuisine and traditional cuisine while motivating novelty and innovation. Therefore, getting skilled at any arts cooking school helps a student to become a sous-chef, executive chef, sommelier, pastry chef, garde manager or a saucier.

In addition, there are online culinary schools which offer training in cuisine skills. These schools offer many courses pertaining to wine tasting and choosing, pastry homework, cook’s knife skills, dessert and baking, holiday catering, regional cooking and, healthy catering. Along with it, teaches style cooking, cost management, safety and hygiene, food identification and handling, groceries and sustenance, special cooking, gourmet cuisines and catering. These classes are provided either in the form of distant education or, as online lessons in the usual mode. They are trained with the help of assistance such as providing video presentations, online instructor’s instructions, techniques and direction via email or websites, Audio-based sessions or CD-ROM/Video, web-based sessions, threaded discourses, online assemblies, web-logs, teleconferencing, video conferencing, and chat.

Culinary cooking schools prepare you for a job in the culinary industry by providing you with the knowledge and skills you will need in the field. In order to properly prepare you, there are a number of subjects that will be covered in the curriculum at any reputable cooking school.

Basic food production skills: Before you can learn the more specialized skills of the culinary arts, you have to know the fundamentals. Therefore, most cooking schools begin their degree programs with one or more classes on basic food production. These courses may seem like nothing more than what you mother taught you, but they ensure that you are ready to move on to the next level of skills.

Basic nutrition: In order to work with food, you have to know what it is made of, and how our bodies use it. An understanding of nutrition goes behind simply knowing that calories are a measurement of the energy gained from food, and that this energy comes in the forms of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Our bodies also have need of specific vitamins and minerals, which are found in different foods in varying levels. Even the most basic understanding of nutrition will help you better plan meals, by giving you a guide by which to choose the components of any one meal. Therefore, most culinary cooking schools include in their degree programs at least one course in basic nutrition.