“The first thing that impressed me about Washburne, of course, was the price but I certainly wouldn’t have enrolled there if I thought it was some sort of bargain-basement school,”

Second degree burns, stitches, being assisted by paramedics in the hallways, sleeping in chairs, and pulling 10 hour restaurant shifts after class: These are things I have seen students go through while attending culinary schools.

Rob Levitt, of the soon-to-open Butcher & Larder, swears by his Forschner 5 1/2″semi-flex boning knife. It cost him a mere $30.

Rick Bayless – Top Chef Masters’s winner, Michelin Star recipient, author, and successful business man did not attend culinary school but he did get his Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies as well as doing doctoral work in Anthropological Linguistics. He is formally educated but grew up around the food industry.

I would often hear in the halls, “But I don’t need this English class. I want to cook!”

People can make a career change. Sometimes it comes down to planning, seizing opportunities, sheer will, but usually it’s all three.

Not all of us know the kind of people with enough disposable income to afford the services of a personal chef. Even if they did…

Tuesday is not bad but I didn’t know I couldn’t come during dinner service.

However, if you drop out of school or default on that loan, don’t expect any holiday cards or an invite to a family function if they are blood relatives.

Before being sold on the idea of attending an expensive (or inexpensive) culinary school, take a test drive.