My previous responses have been kind of middle-of-the-road. But I'd say, firmly, not to. I don't really know what's going on in these schools, but the people they're producing are arrogant, not really good about taking direction or criticism.

I've been working in food since I was 14, with about a 6 year break in between to go to school (for something completely unrelated) and to do database management. I'm in my early 30s now. So, about 8 years of working in kitchens across all types. Not nearly as much as experience as many in the industry have, but I worked up to running my own kitchen in the last couple of years.

I was head chef of a kitchen as of a couple of weeks ago. Left that gig for a higher paying sous chef position at another restaurant, in which I was told that I would be learning from the head chef and so on. Which is what I wanted. Most of what I've done is basically teaching myself, either from reading Escoffier's book and just doing it, getting the flavors I like and coming up with different dishes.

This chef I'm working under right now has a lot more experience as head chef than I do, but I'm being left to wonder how the fuck he's applying all that experience. He's arrogant, narcissistic and is bent on trashing and tearing everyone down. His food is okay, but marketed really well. It just feels fake and insincere, everything about the dude. And I haven't really learned anything.

Except: him included, all the culinary graduates I've had to deal with over the years present roughly the same attitudes. They don't want to really get their hands dirty by helping out on the line, they're adverse to doing the shit jobs -- like dish, if needed -- around the kitchen and expect praise the one or few times they actually do it. They don't handle constructive criticism that well and they want all the praise. It's just a fucking drag.

Not saying all culinary graduates are like that, but it's my experience. Taking a few classes to bone up on something? Yeah, I can see that. And obviously there are culinary graduates who know how to properly run a kitchen and know how to teach people, because a lot of them get recognized by well-respected organizations, like James Beard.

This is more of a trade and is more appropriate being treated as an apprenticed position instead of doing class time in a completely controlled environment. Getting a job is going to be the best experience. Training yourself in styles you find interesting and getting your techniques through experience, under a good chef, while getting paid for it is much better than dropping money on the culinary school scam, though.