MOVE OVER HELL’S KITCHEN…CULINARY PROGRAMS AVAILABLE IN SAN FRANCISCO

SAN FRANCISCO, October 2007 – The Art Institute of California – San Francisco announced that it will offer two new culinary-specific degree programs; Associate of Science in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Management slated to begin in spring 2008.

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco established its culinary programs with the guidance of over 25 schools with culinary offerings that are part of The Art Institutes system of over 35 schools throughout North America. “The Art Institutes system of schools has been offering culinary programs for more than 10 years,” said Art Institute of California – San Francisco President, James Campbell. “We believe that we can draw from the success and experience of our national network to bring a very high quality program to the Bay Area and northern California.”

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco’s Culinary Arts Associate of Science program emphasizes hands-on training from basic food preparation skills and progresses to advanced food techniques, including garde manger, a la carte preparation, international cuisine, and baking and pastry. The seven-quarter Associate of Science program also includes a solid foundation in sanitation, safety and nutrition studies. In addition to cooking and food preparation, culinary arts students learn kitchen and dining room operations, catering management and other business skills, such as cost control and supervision of food service personnel.

The Culinary Management Bachelor of Science degree program builds upon the associate’s degree program providing a more expansive and in-depth curriculum in food preparation, customer service, human resources, technology and marketing. The curriculum focuses special attention on the business of culinary management, including key interpersonal development that enables successful operations and prepares graduates for entry-level foodservice-related management and supervisory trainee positions.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our educational offerings in this area and believe there is a solid need in this area for these students upon graduation,” said President, James Campbell. “The Culinary Management program offers students across-the-board competency in culinary arts as well as a solid foundation in the business side of the industry.”

The programs’ Academic Director, overseeing curriculum development and instruction is Chef Linda Carucci, an award-winning culinary instructor and cookbook author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2002, her peers in the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) voted her
Cooking Teacher of the Year. She is the author of Cooking School Secrets for Real World Cooks (Chronicle Books, 2005), which was honored as a finalist for the IACP’s Julia Child First Book Award and for a James Beard Cookbook Award. Most recently, Linda served as the first Julia Child Director of Culinary Programs at COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, the Napa Valley wine and food discovery center founded by Robert Mondavi. From 1989 to 1993, Linda was the dean at the California Culinary Academy. Linda is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, has a bachelor's degree in psychology, magna cum laude, from Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts and a master's degree in education from Colorado State University.

Demand for the associate’s degree in Culinary Arts and the bachelor's degree in Culinary Management was determined by a faculty curriculum committee and a professional advisory board of culinary industry experts from around the Bay Area.

The Art Institute of California – San Francisco is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 35 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion, and culinary arts professionals

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