Pittsburgh

The Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh is distinguished from other culinary schools by its membership in the international Cordon Bleu culinary school network. It is also distinct from other schools that have been described in this website in that it has both a full 15 month "Associate Degree in Specialized Technology in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Program," and an "Associate Degree in Specialized Technology in Le Cordon Bleu Pastry Program."

Many other culinary schools have a full-length culinary program and a shorter bakery certificate program. The Pittsburgh baking track, therefore, offers students with a baking interest a degree program with which to distinguish themselves from the pack.

The two programs share courses in safety, sanitation, nutrition, wine/spirits management, food/beverage management, job search techniques, entrepreneurship, microcomputers.

The culinary program offers its own classes on kitchen operations, breakfast/lunch cookery, starches, baking fundamentals, patisserie, soups/stocks/sauces, fish/shellfish, meat/poultry, charcuterie (cold meats), garde manger (cold food presentation), and more.

The bakery folks get to study baking, dough formulas, specialty bread products, pastry creams/custards/mousse, pies/flans/strudel, cakes/decorating, French pastry/meringue, culinary arts food preparation, petit fours/cookies, specialty desserts, frozen desserts/ice creams/sherbets, icing/pastillage/marzipan/chocolate artistry, sugar designs/decorations, advanced decorating/architecture design, and participate in a American Culinary Federation Culinary Salon competition in the Pastry category.

Graduates of these programs typically would have the skills to enter the food service industry as a cook, line cook, sous chef, and will have completed the educational requirements for certification under the guidelines of the American Culinary Federation.