2017 RANKING & REVIEWS
TOP RANKING BEST COOKERY COURSES
Finding the Best Cookery Courses
Whether you are an aspiring professional, a dedicated hobbyist, or a casual cook, solid, workable knowledge about food and cooking is a great life skill to have.
The culinary industry is booming, which means the options for cooking lessons or chef training courses are more numerous than ever. Time is precious and no one wants to waste theirs sifting through endless options or taking a culinary course that does not suit their needs.
Award Emblem: Top 6 Best Cookery Courses
Often, when people search for the best culinary course options, they run into questions like:
- Can I take cooking classes online?
- Are culinary courses just for industry professionals?
- Can I use cooking classes to improve my professional skills?
- How much do cooking lessons cost?
To help you quickly and easily answer all of your cooking class questions, the following rankings and reviews will examine some of the best available courses. With the information included below, you can weigh each program against your own needs to find the best fit for you.
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AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 6 Best Cookery Courses
List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the course titles below to go directly to the detailed review section for that course):
- Alain Ducasse Ecole de Cuisine
- Institute of Culinary Education
- Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program
- Masterclass.com Gorgon Ramsay Teaches Cooking
- River Cottage
- ROUXBE Cooking School
Top 6 Best Cookery Courses | Brief Comparison & Ranking
| Course Names | Cost | Online Option | Professional or Casual |
| Alain Ducasse Ecole de Cuisine | Most classes- €170 Special events as high as €500 | No | Casual training |
| Institute of Culinary Education | Most classes-$120 Some Classes as high as $605 | No | Mainly professional training with some casual options |
| Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program | $13,418 | Yes | Professional training |
| Masterclass.com Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking | $90 | Yes | Casual training |
| River Cottage | Varies depending on course | No | Casual with a holistic focus |
| ROUXBE Cooking School | Membership fee- $299.99 Monthly fee-$4.99 | Yes | Both |
Table: Top 6 Best Cookery Courses | Above list is sorted alphabetically
What Kind of Culinary Arts Courses Exist?
The number and variety of culinary arts courses that exist are almost innumerable. Quality cooking courses will cover basics but also focus on detailed techniques and styles to broaden each student’s culinary understanding.
You can find a cooking course that will cover almost any kind of cuisine, technique, or ingredient.
Image Source: Cookery Courses
Common culinary courses include cooking basics, baking and pastries, sauces, fish, soups, knife skills, information of different kitchen tools and equipment, culinary business management, and a huge variety of specific culinary cultural traditions from around the world.
Do I Have to Be a Professional Chef?
Some institutions cater only to individuals aspiring to work in the culinary industry. However, by no means do you have to be a professional chef or want to be a professional in order to partake in a cooking class.
It is possible to find chef training courses to hone professional know-how or basic cooking lessons to suit any level of experience from a beginner to an expert.
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Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Cookery Courses
Below, please find the detailed review of each cooking course on our list of best cookery courses. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these top culinary courses to score so highly in our selection ranking.
Alain Ducasse Ecole de Cuisine Review
The Alain Ducasse Ecole de Cuisine is a school that offers cooking courses in Paris, France. Founded by famed chef, Alain Ducasse, these cooking lessons are designed to make expert culinary skills accessible to the general public.
The school cultivates a casual atmosphere intended to put students at ease as they practice their culinary lessons and lean their skills. It does not offer professional chef courses and is intended only for culinary enthusiasts.
Courses
Cooking courses are designed to educate food hobbyists and help amateurs hone their home cooking skills. In keeping with this spirit cooking lessons designed specifically for children and teenagers are available. The school also hosts a wide range of events like private parties, bridal showers, and corporate events.
The school offers a wide range of cooking courses for everyone from beginners to experts. Most cooking lessons cost €170, but some special events can be priced as high as €500. Culinary lessons are available in both English and French and cover topics like:
- Everyday cooking skills
- Pastry skills
- Wine knowledge
Cooking lessons are capped with a maximum of 10 students to allow instructors to give ample attention to each student. Classes are taught by expert chefs in state-of-the-art kitchens to offer students the highest qualify skills. Students are not required to provide anything for their learning experience; everything from knives to aprons will be provided by the school.
While these cooking courses might not be a good option for an aspiring chef, this school offers a great environment for curious minds to explore the world of the culinary arts as little or as much as they desire.
Institute of Culinary Education Review
The Institute of Culinary Education is a more serious option that offers chef training courses for aspiring culinary professionals. It is located in New York City, but students have opportunities to take culinary courses abroad for more immersive educational experiences.
Though most resources are intended for professional culinary courses, this school does also offer cooking lessons for cooks with no culinary experience. These recreational cooking courses are for casual chefs with different levels of expertise and explore different culinary traditions and styles.
Courses
The main focus of the institute is professional development and culinary arts courses for individuals in the culinary industry. They offer culinary arts courses that explore different cultural culinary styles and culinary lessons in technique and execution. They also offer chef courses on broader culinary topics like:
- Food media
- Culinary business
- Business management
92% of surveyed alumni claimed that their experience with culinary arts courses at this school were beneficial to their careers. Along with top-notch instruction, they also offer alumni resources to help each student follow their optimal career path. Tuition costs for culinary courses range widely depending on the subject and scope of each program. Some cooking courses cost as much as $605, while many are priced closer to $120.
This is an excellent option for professionals looking to network and expand their understanding of the industry, as well as culinary hobbyists hoping to develop their skills.
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Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program Review
Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program is a time-honored institution with over 100 years of history in the industry. This school offers chef training courses and focuses on professional development for every facet of the culinary world.
Though this is definitely a good option for any professional chef looking for a culinary course, there are basic cookery courses for casual cooks as well. These cooking lessons are taught by professional instructors as well as students enrolled in culinary arts courses.
Image Source: Culinary Courses
These cookery courses only take place in designated cities, but they offer high quality training for amateur chefs. Cookery courses can range between 1-5 days and cover a variety of topics.
Courses
Le Cordon Bleu has locations scattered across the U.S., including:
- Georgia
- Massachusetts
- Texas
- California
- Illinois
- Nevada
- Florida
- Minnesota
- Oregon
- Washington
- Arizona
This school offers online culinary courses for fields like culinary operations, hospitality and restaurant management, and culinary management. Online classes offer students flexibility to learn on their own schedule and can help them qualify for both operations and hospitality management jobs.
This institution offers a wide range of chef training courses that allows students to focus on culinary arts, baking and pastry skills, or wine and beverage programs. Students can earn associates degrees in their chosen area or any number of different culinary certifications or diplomas.
Graduating students can expect to complete their selected culinary courses with a well-rounded understanding of their field and practical applications for their selected area of interest. Professional programs generally last between 12 and 21 months, depending on the area of study.
The tuition cost for Le Cordon Bleu culinary courses can vary between individual campuses, depending on the particular program being pursued. However, as this is a professional school, prospective students can expect the cost to be competitive with other forms of higher education. The total cost of fees and tuition at the Orlando campus is around $13,418; however, financial aid and student loans can be used to cover this cost.
Masterclass.com Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking Review
Masterclass.com Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking is an entirely online cooking course program taught by the Michelin-starred TV personality, Gordon Ramsay.
This culinary arts course allows you to learn special techniques from the comfort of your own home. This cooking course might cost less than other in-person options, but any student hoping to cook along with the program is required to provide their own kitchen, equipment, and ingredients.
Courses
This cooking course is intended for amateur or enthusiast chefs and does not offer any official certification. It consists of 4 hours worth of video content divided into 20 video segments and a downloadable workbook, which includes summaries for the cooking lessons and recipes.
One drawback to taking an entirely online culinary course is the lack of face-to-face interaction. However, these cookery courses circumvent that issue by allowing students to upload videos for feedback and submit questions to the chef himself.
Each video culinary course covers an individual topic. Cookery courses range widely and cover subjects broken into three general categories:
- Methods
- Ingredients
- Recipes
Methods include special skills like knife basics, homemade pasta production, and whole fish breakdown. Ingredient sections cover cooking lessons on particular ingredient categories like seafood and produce and offer students insight into how to choose the best possible ingredients.
These are basic cookery courses that can give students a firm culinary foundation. Students can access every culinary course for $90 with no expiration. This is an excellent way for fans and admirers of Chef Ramsay to learn his techniques or for any aspiring chef to gain a solid understanding of basic culinary lessons and practices.
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River Cottage Review
River Cottage is slightly less traditional than some of the other culinary arts courses presented here. River Cottage is a brand that encompasses many different enterprises, owned by Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
River Cottage HQ is a working farm in the county of Dorset in the southwest of England. River Cottage also hosts seasonal markets and special events in additional to their culinary courses.
Courses
It is this incarnation of River Cottage that offers a wide range of both basic cookery courses and less traditional culinary courses. The basic cookery courses cover topics like bread making, pastries, nose-to-tail cooking, and cheese making. The less traditional culinary courses delve into subjects like foraging, seasonal nutrition, and preserves.
These cooking courses are intended for anyone who loves food, and not just seasoned professionals. The culinary arts course programs do not offer professional certification or degrees. These basic cookery courses are each different, and prices vary depending on the subject being taught. For example, the mushroom foraging lesson costs £195, while the fish cookery lesson is £240.
As a working farm, River Cottage focuses on a holistic view of food and cooking. These unique cooking courses are a good option for anyone, professional or otherwise, interested in an encompassing view of cooking and ingredient sources.
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ROUXBE Cooking School Review
ROUXBE Cooking School is an online cooking school that offers both general cooking lessons and professional certification options. This option allows students pursuing either casual or professional interests to lean on their own schedule from their own homes.
Details
These cooking courses are composed of a series of online videos and quizzes to help students absorb the presented information and techniques. Each culinary arts course is composed of units covering specific informational modules and a cumulative final assessment.
The cooking courses cover a wide range of topics including:
- Basic kitchen skills
- Plant-based cooking
- Chicken and poultry techniques
- Steak
- Knife skills
- Food safety
Along with the broader chef courses, the school also offers specific cooking lessons to help students focus on more detailed areas of interests. Cooking lessons cover topics like:
- Selecting the best knife set
- Making stock
- Steaming eggs
- Pan frying
- How to choose fresh fish
To access chef courses, students must sign up for a membership with a $299.99 initiation fee and $4.99 monthly fee. Membership includes individual lessons, courses, and assessments as well as chef support and video recipes. Students are able to cancel their membership at anytime.
This is a great option for anyone who loves food and is interested in gaining access to an extensive library of instructional videos. ROUXBE allows each student to focus on areas that interest them or will benefit them the most and expand their education at their own pace.
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Conclusion — Top 6 Best Cookery Courses
To find the best cooking classes for you, it is important to examine your own needs and expectations. The best options will fit your level of expertise, teach you useful skills, be presented in a way that fits your schedule, and spark your interest.
To find the best fit for you, keep in mind the highlights from our comparison:
- Alain Ducasse Ecole de Cuisine: Offers home cooks the chance to learn from industry professionals in Paris, France.
- Institute of Culinary Education: Teaches both professionals and casual cooks useful culinary skills.
- Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program: Offers industry professionals certificate and degree programs.
- Masterclass.com Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking: Casual home cooks can learn techniques from their own home.
- River Cottage: Offers students a holistic approach to cooking.
- ROUXBE Cooking School: Students can access an extensive online library to learn skills at their own pace.
This review offers a diverse sampling of what the world of culinary education has to offer. Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses that will appeal to different kinds of culinary students depending on their needs and goals. However, none of these choices offer low quality options or could be considered better or worse than any of the others. To find the best for you, carefully weigh the benefits and disadvantages of each as they relate to your culinary aspirations.
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