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Burnt Chefs

Continued from page 3

Published on June 06, 2007

Then, there were the classmates. Serious students complain that CCA's open-door admissions policy was combined with a policy of passing everyone through to graduation, regardless of performance. They tell of students who made it to the final class without learning basic techniques, like how to julienne a vegetable (to the kitchen-averse, that means to cut it into thin strips), or how to make a consommé (a slowly simmered soup made from meat and bouillon).

  • Paolo Vescia
    Both Jennifer Browning and Matthew Jarvis say that CCA is a bad career move.
    Both Jennifer Browning and Matthew Jarvis say that CCA is a bad career move.
  • Paolo Vescia
    Both Jennifer Browning and Matthew Jarvis say that CCA is a bad career move.
    Both Jennifer Browning and Matthew Jarvis say that CCA is a bad career move.

Subject(s):

Strickland on California Culinary Academy
The most disturbing story comes from a culinary class that graduated in August 2006. Alan Livingston recalls a student who was transferred into his class who had severe learning or mental disabilities; it was clear to everyone that he didn't belong in school. Livingston remembers one day in their baking and pastry class, when each student brought their finished product to the front of the room for critique. "He made a peanut butter and jelly pizza ... it's hard to describe," he says.

Another student from Livingston's class confirmed the account of the troubled student, and added that in the last class, the student got yelled at because he literally couldn't figure out how to boil water. Both say they thought it was outrageous that the student was passed through to graduation without learning basic skills. "Someone should have said, 'Stop, save your money,'" says Livingston. "I thought it was very unethical."

CCA also uses its career services as a selling point; the course catalog brags about the school's active job-placement assistance and its "industry connections" at the finest resorts and restaurants. What that translates to, say graduates, is career counselors who hand you lists of places where their students have gotten jobs in the past. When Sarah, who also asked that her last name be omitted, went to career services at the beginning of the school year to inquire about part-time work, the counselor suggested a job at the Gap. "I actually left crying," she says. Meanwhile, of the 11 people who finished the restaurant management class with her husband Daniel in 2006, three went to work at Starbucks afterward, two as baristas.

Many graduates believe that CCA is flooding the Bay Area market with graduates who aren't properly trained and who bring down the reputation of the school, thus damaging the job prospects of all graduates. "I've gone to interviews and had people raise their eyebrows and say, "I have my own opinions about CCA,'" says Jennifer Browning. She remembers specifically interviewing at the Café Cacao at the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory in Berkeley, and seeing the pastry chef's interest wane when she saw CCA on Browning's resume. Browning didn't get the job.

Graduates say their first loan payment statements made their jaws drop. Former student Ross Johnson says the financial aid counselor who set up his loans told him that his monthly loan payments were likely to be about $300 a month. When he got his first statement six months after graduation, the monthly charge was $1,100. He has six loans from Sallie Mae, four with interest rates above 13 percent — one with the staggering rate of 19.8 percent.

Johnson worked a few restaurant jobs after graduation, including a stint as the sous chef at Nordstrom's Bistro Café. But with his total debt up to about $88,000, he had to give up on low-paying cooking work and search for a better salary. Now he's making decent money — he makes $20 per hour installing beer kegs and cleaning taps.

CCA President Gibson wrote that she was prohibited by federal privacy regulations from commenting on individual students, or their complaints. However, she wrote that it's CCA policy to give students "a realistic understanding of the realities of the industry." She wrote that advancement in the culinary field requires not only the skills learned in culinary school, but also "a strong work ethic, a commitment to excellence," and several other attributes. Regarding student loans, Gibson stressed that CCA helps students get all the federal and state aid they're eligible for before turning to private lenders. It's school policy to inform students that private loans generally carry higher interest rates than federal student loans, she wrote.

Finally, Gibson denied the general allegation that the school puts its own financial interests ahead of the students' welfare. "Providing a valuable service and managing a well-run, profitable business are not mutually exclusive events," she wrote.

The admissions reps often work a bit about the Culinary Academy's distinguished history into their sales pitch. CCA was founded in San Francisco in 1977, which makes it one of the oldest culinary schools in the West.

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