Real-World Education Means Expanded Real-World Experiences
When I set out to open San Francisco Cooking School I worked closely with some of the industry’s top talent to develop an experience here that would be as relevant as possible. Gone were many of the dated lessons seen in classic programs. I wanted to focus on small classes, top-notch instructors, real-world learning, and an ongoing relationship with the Bay Area food community. Field trips, guest chefs, externships, and the exploration of a variety of food jobs have been woven into SFCS since day one. These are things I’m particularly proud of and they are what makes this school so unique.
As the industry has shifted with expanded opportunities in food, I have made sure the programs here have kept up. People continue to need a strong core food education, but how that education applies to a job in the real world can be different for each and every student. Not everyone enrolls in culinary school because they want to land in a restaurant.
To address these changes, SFCS now has Curriculum Concentrations for both the Culinary and Pastry & Baking programs. Students have the opportunity to select a Concentration to help further refine their areas of study. These Concentrations will predominantly impact externship placements, helping me find each person a mentor who can best guide them towards individual career goals. During certain weeks of the curriculum, there will also be occasional days that are programmed based on these Concentrations, such as speakers or field trips that tap into the best the Bay Area has to offer.
Restaurant + Bakery
Most students I meet imagine a future owning, operating, or cooking in a restaurant or bakery, or being a caterer or private chef. For these students, their Concentration will fall into the Restaurant category and they will be placed in an externship in a top Bay Area kitchen to experience as many aspects of the business as possible while continuing to refine skills. This is also the best Concentration for students not entirely sure what the future holds. I still strongly believe that the value of time in a working kitchen pays off no matter what food job is in the future. Rigor, repetition, and organization all get put to the test in a working kitchen.
Food Media
If a future writing cookbooks, developing and testing recipes, or being a food stylist is more aligned with someone’s career goals, we offer a Food Media Concentration. After school starts, students can share more information with me about specific interests — I love talking through these ideas and guiding people down the right path. Here students may find themselves on set with a food stylist, working in an R&D kitchen, or writing your cookbook proposal with an amazing mentor.
Food Entrepreneurship
Some students are natural self-starters, excited about introducing the world to the next great food idea or product. Exploring Food Entrepreneurship is a Concentration as well. I ask students to submit concepts to me for review and, if selected, I work to pair them with a mentor to build an externship around developing a business plan and helping to navigate the process of taking a concept from idea to reality.
Whatever Concentration students choose, they will leave San Francisco Cooking School prepared to work in a restaurant or bakery (this is still cooking school, after all). The goal is to make sure they not only experience a core education that is second to none, but that the real world experiences offered are designed specifically for each individual’s career goals. It’s a wide world out there in food and SFCS is embracing all of it!
