CLASSIC CULINARY ARTS - 600 HOURS
OVERVIEW | CURRICULUM | START DATES+TUITION | ALUMNI STORIES
SPECIAL PRICING | APPLY NOW

overview

Like all incarnations of modern art and culture, the culinary arts never stop evolving, breaking new boundaries, and unveiling new standards of creativity and excellence. As a student at The FCI you're always at the forefront of this vibrant industry. And our expanded culinary arts curriculum, based on the classic French techniques that form the basis for all western cuisine, will keep you there. Here's how:

In just months, you learn what other schools take years to teach.
With our innovative curriculum and proven Total Immersion^SM method of training, it takes just 6 months by day, or 9 if you train at night, to learn what would take years to learn at other schools. Thousands of students have succeeded using this method, including many with no prior professional culinary experience. It's all about personal attention, instant feedback, hands-on repetition, and inspiring reinforcement so that each carefully planned lesson becomes an instinctive part of your permanent repertoire. It works, and it will work for you. And yes, you do it all in the heart and soul of the culinary world, on our campus in SoHo, New York City.

It's not just about learning French cooking.
Our Classic Culinary Arts Program doesn't just teach you French cooking. It immerses you in the classic French techniques that form the building blocks of all great western cuisine. Your instructors are passionate, inspiring culinary achievers and trendsetters who teach you up close and hands-on. Classes are intimate, averaging just 12 students per teacher. So you get the personal attention and support that really build your confidence and skills. Thanks to our Total Immersion^SM approach, the intensity of our training is matched only by the speed of your learning. Nothing else compares.

Learn real-world skills working in our award-winning restaurant.
As a student at The FCI, you won't be sent off to externships at local restaurants where your newly learned skills are wasted prepping vegetables or separating eggs all day. Instead, the last third of your training takes you straight to center stage, into the kitchen of our own award-winning, Zagat^® Guide-, Michelin^®, and Wine Spectator-rated restaurant, L'Ecole. Our expert chefs oversee your work as you prepare dishes for our discriminating restaurant guests. The quality of training is so high, this restaurant competes with top restaurants everywhere. This is the unique, real world experience you'll only find at The French Culinary Institute.

You'll follow a curriculum designed by legends in the culinary world.
Our curriculum was designed by industry icons who also happen to be our esteemed Deans — Chef Jacques Pépin, "the Zen master of technique," Chef André Soltner, creator of spectacular dishes truly brilliant in their simplicity, and Chef Alain Sailhac, whose experience and reputation are respected worldwide. If you dream of achievement like theirs, you need a culinary school like ours.

curriculum

Level 1
Quality: Introduction to Culinary Techniques
You'll come in with lots of passion and a little uncertainty. And on day one you begin the surprisingly fast evolution into a confident cook, beginning with an orientation to the kitchen environment, including personal hygiene, safety, and basic first aid. You learn the use, maintenance, and care of equipment. Food safety training is a component of Level 1 and begins with an introduction to food protection, learning how various foods should be handled from harvest or slaughter through production. This is your first step towards the valuable ServSafe® certification required in every professional kitchen.

Your training continues as you move on to product identification. Knife skills and classic cuts. Understanding seasoning. Making stocks and sauces, soups and consommés. Studying and preparing various cuts of meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and vegetables. Savory doughs and batters. Food storage and preservation. Learning to work as a member of a team to accomplish complex tasks quickly.

Level 2
Quality: Building Culinary Foundations
As the basics become more familiar to you, Level 2 applies them to different preparations and disciplines. Your training continues with studying and preparing game meats, veal, and eggs. Culinary math and food costing. An extensive overview of classic pastry components, including crèmes, ice creams, mousses, soufflés, doughs, tarts, and cakes, and desserts in the restaurant kitchen. Principles of nutrition: the function of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in the body, and how to intelligently select and prepare ingredients to create the greatest nutritional value along with spectacular flavor. Cooking seasonally and sustainably. An in-depth look at pasta, cheese, and rice. Menu development and plating design. Wines and spirits tasting and principles of food pairing. At the end of Level 2 you’ll take the ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Certification Examination.

Level 3
Discipline: Skills for Consistency and Refinement, Time Management, and Organization
The transition begins from beginner-level training to your midterm. Every day, you'll work in one of the five departments: Garde-Manger, Poissonnier, Saucier, and Pâtissier, or Catering. As you add new skills—including sous-vide (low-temperature cooking)—you're also eliminating basic mistakes and learning how to consistently execute required recipes and techniques to high standards in tight deadlines. Teamwork is key to an efficient kitchen, so you work more closely with peers. You rotate through the stations of the classic French kitchen, creating team dishes for your Chef-Instructor to critique. Every dish is reviewed and discussed with a group to reinforce learning and help everyone prep for the upcoming midterm through consistency in execution.

Level 4
Discipline: Techniques in Buffet, Charcuterie, and Production, and Volume Cooking
As your midterm proved, you're developing into a skilled and more confident cook as you move into the second half of your training. Under the guidance of your Chef-Instructor, you prepare large volume à la carte preparations and butchery. You conceptualize and produce a top-notch hot and cold buffet with charcuterie items, glazed cold preparations, and arrangements of vegetables and fruit. Everything from its nutritional value to color and arrangement to the traffic flow you create are evaluated. Working with your team, you ordering the appropriate ingredients and make and serve large-volume meals for our staff. You help to prepare stocks, savory doughs, terrines and pâtés, butchering, and other preparations for use in the restaurant, L’Ecole.

Level 5
Reality: Introduction to the Professional Kitchen
In Level 5, your experience in a real-world restaurant kitchen begins on the line in L’Ecole. This is when you start putting all your skills together and really take off—thriving in the exhilarating, pressure-packed atmosphere of our acclaimed on-campus restaurant. You produce a regional French menu typical of a fine bistro or brasserie, preparing dishes that exemplify traditional French culinary standards for outstanding appearance and taste on a daily basis. Working on Garde Manger, Poissonnier, Saucier, and Pâtissier brigades, you get proficient and comfortable at every kitchen station and have the opportunity to develop a daily special for the seasonal prix-fixe menu.  L'Ecole repeatedly earns a 24 rating from Zagat® Survey and is among the elite recognized by the Michelin® Guide — proof that our students can impress the savviest and most demanding customers in the world.

In this level, you produce a menu project: a creative menu in the cuisine of your choice, complete with introduction, recipes, beverage pairings, illustrations, and a food-costing summary. This is your chance to demonstrate your creativity, passion, and the intangibles that elevate truly special chefs above their peers.

Level 6
Reality: Confidence, Control, and Creativity in the Professional Kitchen
Now you prove your command of the fundamental cooking methods of Western cuisine, and produce a contemporary me­­­nu that blends these classic techniques with current styles and emerging trends. You demonstrate adaptability, flexibility, and grace under fire along with your mastery of cooking.

For your final exam, you'll focus on two menu items selected at random from the course curriculum. A panel of distinguished professionals, which may include award-winning chefs restaurateurs, and food critics, thoroughly evaluate every nuance of your finished dishes. At the same time, your Chef-Instructors monitor and grade your performance in the hopes of giving you your wings. They're all intensely demanding, but very fair. And if you can impress this group, you're on your way to success. Upon graduation, you're ready to step seamlessly into the finest commercial kitchens, and you join the esteemed network of alumni from The French Culinary Institute.

The French Culinary Institute is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC).

start dates + tuition

Learning Mode: Hands-on - 469 hours. Theory - 131 hours.

Please note: Classes are limited to 22-24 students per session and tend to fill quickly. If the class you select is full, we'll enroll you in the next available class with the same schedule.

Check back frequently since we are constantly updating our course schedules. Or contact us at 888.324.2433 for additional start dates. 

Evening Schedule
Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, 5:45pm - 10:45pm (9 months)

Start	End	Cost
October 19, 2010	August 2, 2011	$ 37,050

Evening Schedule
Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 5:45pm - 10:45pm (9 Months)

Start	End	Cost
September 10, 2010	July 8, 2011	$ 39,550

Day Schedule
Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 3:00pm (6 Months)

Start	End	Cost
November 15, 2010	May 12, 2011	$ 44,600
December 15, 2010	June 10, 2011	$ 44,600
January 19, 2011	July 11, 2011	$ 44,600

special pricing

The French Culinary Institute offers special tuition pricing for select students enrolling in career programs. View the criteria below to see if you're eligible, or contact your Admission representative for more information.

Recent High School Graduates
If you're between 17 and 20 years old and hold a valid high school diploma dated within two years of your start date, you may be eligible for 10% tuition reduction off the cost of our Classic Culinary Arts, Classic Pastry Arts, or Art of International Bread Baking programs.

Recent Military Veterans & Their Spouses
If you’re a recent military veteran and have been officially discharged within 24 months of your start date, you may be eligible for a 15% tuition reduction off the cost of our Classic Culinary Arts, Classic Pastry Arts, or Art of International Bread Baking programs. The spouses of recent military veterans or service members on active duty may also qualify.

Paid-In-Full Credit
All students who pay in full the total cost of tuition for Classic Culinary Arts or Classic Pastry Arts are eligible for a $500 Paid-In-Full Credit. The entire balance due must be paid in full by cash, check, or credit card upon enrollment or no later than one week prior to the start date. Students enrolling in the Art of International Bread Baking program are not eligible to receive this credit.

alumni stories

Think all grads from our Culinary Program go on to become chefs in NYC? Only the ones who want to! Many head to other locales, or blaze new trails in careers as food writers and editors, stylists, tasters, catering and food retail professionals, and countless other lucrative positions in the expanding world of food. In less than a year, you can do the same with an education from The FCI. Click here to read just a few stories from some of these adventurous alums.