Cooking schools are red-hot

Michigan chef schools packed despite lack of jobs

Steve Pardo / The Detroit News

Warren -- After 22 years as a contract employee at the General Motors Tech Center, Tim Jarrell found himself laid off and looking for another career about four years ago.

Instead of hunting for a new job in his field, Jarrell followed his passion.

He went back to school -- cooking school. He signed up for the two-year culinary program at Macomb Community College. Now, 46, he serves as a sous-chef, handling orders and food preparation at his alma mater.

"I had a personal interest in food," Jarrell said. "When I went into this field, I thought, 'You can go anywhere with it.' The program here is not just learning to stand behind a stove. It's a well-rounded education."

He's not alone in turning to culinary arts for a second career, even as the restaurant industry statewide simmers down due to the economy and chef jobs are tough to find. Cooking schools throughout the state are at capacity. Many have waiting lists of a year or longer. Instructors say the programs have never been more popular. Students of all ages jam the 60-odd schools in the state. New culinary schools have opened and existing ones are expanding.

The new Culinary Institute of Michigan in Muskegon began classes Sept. 28. The program, part of Baker College, saw enrollment swell to 500 from 300 students last year with the completion of the $11-million, three-story, 39,000-square-foot institute.

"We started the program in 1997, and we outgrew our old space," said Mary Ann Herbst, president of Baker College of Muskegon. "Students looking to come to culinary school knew we were opening, and they followed us." Officials predict enrollment will grow. The institute can accommodate up to 750 students a day, six days a week.

Locally, Dorsey Schools -- career training centers offering courses at six Metro Detroit locations -- opened a culinary arts school at its Roseville campus last year. The 12,000-square-foot building boasts three production kitchens, cooking equipment and classrooms and has about 175 students.

And at Macomb Community College's Culinary Institute, David Schneider, the department coordinator, said: "In every single program where enrollment starts at midnight, within an hour, everything is jammed. We've had students waiting for a year and half."

"The schools are absolutely packed," he added.

But as students flock to cooking schools, the restaurant industry struggles statewide.

Well-known eateries have changed menus, lowered prices or simply closed. This summer, for instance, Milford's Five Lakes Grill became Cinco Lagos, a Mexican-themed restaurant with lower prices. Less than a month ago, Seldom Blues in Detroit filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And on Sept. 29, Tribute Restaurant in Farmington Hills closed its doors.

Schneider said he has seen an uptick of students like Jarrell -- people without employment looking for a second career. A small percentage -- about 3-4 percent of new students -- are receiving tuition aid from the federal No Worker Left Behind act.

Schneider also has seen people who always have loved food, and now with time on their hands, are looking to sharpen their cooking skills.

The Food Network also has contributed to the crush of students. But it's a mixed blessing, Schneider said.

"It's misleading," he said. "This is leading to a rock star chef theory. They believe they're going to be the next big thing. It's sort of like playing the lottery."

Henry Ford Community College's culinary program is filled to its 275-student capacity. And like other cooking schools, there's usually a waiting list.

"In these hard times, people are looking to do things that they love -- and what they love is food," said Dennis Konarski, the culinary arts director of HFCC.

Waiting list at Schoolcraft

Grasping a butcher saw, Schoolcraft chef and instructor Marcus Haight demonstrated how to separate legs of lamb before deboning.

The group of students worked breaking down primal cuts of pork, lamb and tuna. Some of the foods were to be further prepared by students in other classes. The rest ended up on customer's plates at the student and faculty-run American Harvest Restaurant in the college's VisTaTech Center. The students in Haight's classroom are in their first year of the two-year program. Schoolcraft officials are working to offer a four-year bachelor's degree in culinary arts.

About 190 students are enrolled in the program, another 30 in the baking program. The college also attracts nearly 2,000 more students each year for informal cooking classes. Schoolcraft, too, has a waiting list for its culinary program -- a year and a half wait isn't unusual.

Many culinary students don't expect to find work in the state when they graduate.

"I love Michigan, but I figure I can't stay here," said Bret Beaudoin, 24, of Brighton.

Restaurants hurting

The restaurant industry as a whole is shrinking, as measured by the National Restaurant Association. Michigan's situation is among the worst in the nation, said Andy Deloney, a spokesman for the Michigan Restaurant Association.

Nationwide, restaurant industry sales have fallen for 22 straight months, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Sales tax revenues are down from $299 million for the first half of 2008 to $289.2 million this year -- a dip of almost 3.4 percent. If the trends continue, 2009 will mark the first time in memory the state's restaurant industry has declined.

"It's unheard of," Deloney said. Even in good times, the restaurant business can be a rough go for culinary grads. Starting pay is around $12 to $14 an hour, Schneider said. And big money and fame are long shots.

"The bottom line of taking the whole program is there's not a 100-percent guarantee in this craft that you're going to be able to open your own cupcake shop or your own catering company," said Shawn Loving, chef and culinary department head at Schoolcraft. Still, there are opportunities, especially in the fields of elder care and in moderate dining, said Steve Simpson, culinary director at the Art Institute of Michigan in Novi. The institute has schools in 40 cities and expanded to Michigan in 2007.

Rachel Roberts, 24, from Howell hopes to land a job in a hospital or elder-care facility when she graduates.

"I don't want to work in a restaurant," Roberts said. "I'd rather go to someplace a little more stable."