Why Choose The FCI?

Train with the Best

Right here, right now, the next generation of culinary leaders are honing their craft and shaping their dreams. Chefs and pastry chefs. Bread bakers and sommeliers. Restaurant owners and food writers. They're all launching bright careers with the incomparable training, experience, and career connections of The French Culinary Institute.

Here's a snapshot of what sets us apart and gives you an edge in today's competitive market:

You can start classes almost any time you want, day or night.
Many of the classes at The FCI start every few weeks, which means that a new career isn't far off. Just call us now and we'll get you started!

You can choose from two campuses, each surrounded by a vibrant culinary scene.
The FCI’s New York campus is situated in the heart of SoHo, an enclave of art, fashion, and culture that's at the pulse of the city's freshest restaurant scene. Aside from the culture and entertainment that make New York City unique, it’s also home to top international chefs, food experts, and many of the world's most famous restaurants.

Our West Coast campus is located in the heart of the Bay Area, less than an hour’s drive from the culinary diversity of San Francisco, yet still within close proximity of the sweeping expanses of farmland and vineyards California is known for.

Culinary classes are small and hands-on.
For this reason, training is intense, exciting, up close and fast. Your dynamic, inspiring chef-instructor is right there to critique, correct, and support you at every step of the way.

With our Total Immersion^SM approach, you’ll graduate fully trained in six-to-nine months.
Our intense, hands-on method of training, which we call Total ImmersionSM, ensures that FCI career students get the maximum real world learning in the shortest appropriate amount of time. That means in six months, or in nine if you train at night, you’ll learn what other schools take years to teach.

You plug-in to a vast network of powerful connections.
Our worldwide network of industry professionals peppers the world's top restaurants and food-related businesses—and when these graduates and chef-instructors need to hire fresh talent for internships or full-time positions, they often call us first. As a graduate of The FCI, you can count on ongoing job placement assistance and support at all points in your career.

You learn from legends.
At The French Culinary Institute, you'll be trained in a curriculum designed by some of the most famous chefs in the world—respected icons, including Alain Sailhac, Jacques Pépin, Andr Soltner, and Jacques Torres, and Cesare Casella, who also serve as our deans. And you'll train side-by-side with world-class chef-instructors who are experts in their own right and passionate about what they do.

Get starstruck after class.
In addition to your regular classes, The FCI offers you the unique opportunity to check out live demonstrations from high caliber celebrity-chefs and food experts at our on-campus theater. Of course, all performances are free to students of The FCI.

Expand your knowledge even more. Join a student club.
The FCI’s student clubs are your chance to round out your education while socializing with peers who share your passions. Enjoy superb food and wine in hip culinary hotspots or break away from it all on outdoor foraging excursions. The knowledge you build, memories you create, and relationships you forge will last a lifetime.

The FCI is accredited.
The French Culinary Institute is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). Students may obtain information regarding availability of comparable programs, including tuition, fees, and program length from the ACCSC.