Some of the country’s most unique flavors come from New Orleans. Cajun and Creole cooking are characterized by dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice; and punctuated by intense ingredients including: file, crawfish, tasso, andouille sausage, and cane syrup.
Celebrity chef, Emeril Lagasse, has been instrumental in bringing the New Orleans style of cooking to the masses and raising it to the level of fine food.
New Orleans is and has always been a hot tourist stop. Annually visitors flock here for over-the-top Mardi Gras marked by excesses in food, drink and dance and amusement. But visitors also come for the floating casinos and general sightseeing. With hundreds of restaurants, hotels and resorts, you better bet there are continued demands for food industry professionals.
But don’t simply think that the only option for a New Orleans chef is to reimagine Cajun and Creole dishes. When you nurture your passion for cooking the hope is that your imagination pairs natural yet dynamic ingredients in ways never imagined. So don’t get stuck in a regional culinary rut.
Check out the culinary college opportunities available in the New Orleans area.
This popular school is actually a partnership between Princess Foods and Famous Chefs. The mission is to immerse students, novice or experienced, in both classic New Orleans cuisine, as well as classic American. Learn how to nimbly manipulate the native ingredients as well as practice solid kitchen hygiene, portion and control costs, and even manage kitchen staffs.
This regionally known culinary arts school delivers one thing: “short-term skill training” that is argued to be key in any serious chef’s repertoire. Executive and Master Chef as well as school director, Frank Scalfani, argues that his 4-week skill-building program is proven for novice and experienced chefs, including cooks and chefs and pastry bakers.
This fairly new grant-funded program is designed to train novice and experienced cooks and chefs. Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina the tourist industry tanked, along with it many of the support businesses, including restaurants. Many kitchen pros had to look for jobs elsewhere. But this program is working to tip the scales in the other direction by providing local restaurants, hotels, and resorts with passion-driven AND well-trained cooks and chefs.