The FCI culinary curriculum is based directly on that of Le Ferrandi , the official cooking school of Paris. Students start cooking on day one and do not stop until the final exam. The 600-hour program consists of four levels. In Level 1, students enter basic training. Under the guidance of our distinguished chef-instructors, they learn the fundamental techniques of French cooking, rather than just the preparation of individual dishes.
Students start out with the very basics - how to handle knives and tools properly.
The course progresses through the 250 competencies which make up the backbone of French technique. Along the way, students are instructed in classic preparation of stocks, vegetables, salads, eggs, fish, poultry, meat, garnishes and pastry. Students move on to Level 2 and begin practicing and refining the skills taught in Level 1. This is the student's first real chance to prepare food under time constraints and begins to prepare him or her for a real restaurant environment. In Level 3, students advance to actually preparing food for the guests at L'Ecole, the Restaurant of The French Culinary Institute.