Arizona Culinary and Baking Schools

Culinary Schools - Baking Schools - Hospitality Management Schools in Arizona

Besides offering cooking techniques and recipes for home cooks on The Reluctant Gourmet, this site is also a resource for Arizona culinary schools or anyone thinking of starting a career in the restaurant industry, either in the front of the house in restaurant management or as a professional cook in the back of the house.

One of my most popular blog posts with amazing comments is Too Old For Culinary School?

Spotlight on Arizona Culinary Schools

I thought it would be fun to every once-in-a-while look at the various culinary programs of a particular state and see what's available as far as culinary schools and hospitality management programs. Today, I want to focus on Arizona.

You may be currently living in Arizona, plan to move there soon or just think it would be a great place to live and go to culinary school. You may also want to know what's available for you in Arizona. I'm hoping this post will give you a little more insight about the state and show you what's available.

If you are looking for a culinary school in a city or state near you, I suggest you check out my culinary school map and find a school near you in your state. If you are looking for good resources for all things about culinary schools, baking and pastry school and management schools including culinary, hotel and restaurant management programs, check out my Culinary Career Articles or do a search above.

Read, Read and Read Some More

One of the best suggestions I have for anyone thinking of going to culinary school or just getting into the restaurant industry is to read everything you can get your hands on. Learn from professional chefs who have worked in the industry and those who have taught in culinary schools.

There are many great books available to get you started in your culinary education and I suggest you read as much as possible before making that big decision to make sure this is the right move for you. Below is just a sample of books you might be interested in checking out.

For a much more comprehensive list of books for aspiring culinary, baking and restaurant management students, I suggest checking out my post on books for future culinary students and chefs.

Why You Might Want to go to School in Arizona

This beautiful and arid state located in the Southwestern United States is one of the four corner states: sharing borders with Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Mexico and touches Colorado. In addition to its famous deserts, extremely warm summers and mild winters, Arizona is also home to the Colorado Plateau, a region in the northern part of the state that boasts many lush forests.

The Colorado Plateau, located on the four corners (Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico) contains the most national parks in one area. One of the most famous, and one that calls Arizona home, is the Grand Canyon.

The largest city in Arizona, Phoenix, is also the capitol, and the most populous state capitol in the United States. The Phoenix metropolitan area is also home to the country's largest public university - Arizona State University as well as the fast-growing University of Phoenix.

Phoenix is followed by Tucson in population size and is home to the University of Arizona and many other educational institutions.

The mean annual salary for all occupations in the state of Arizona is $40,910, with the mean annual salary for food preparation and serving occupations being $21,230, above the national average.*

Restaurant Industry in Arizona

As of 2008, there were approximately 8,917 eating and drinking places, employing 256,200 people in Arizona. Restaurant and food-service jobs represent 11 percent of the state's employment.

The largest areas of employment in this field are located in the Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale areas. There is a projected 14.4% job growth expected by 2020 for the restaurant and food service industry.**

Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Schools in Arizona

Arizona Culinary Institute - Scottsdale -  A leader of culinary education since 2001, Arizona Culinary Institute offers a Diploma in Culinary Arts, Baking and Restaurant Management as well as operating a student-run restaurant named du Jour.

Central Arizona College-  This Coolidge institution offers programs in culinary arts, hotel & restaurant management and hospitality services management.

Northern Arizona University -  Located in Flagstaff, this University offers programs in Customer Services Management and Foods & Nutrition Studies.

Coconino County Community College -  This college located in Flagstaff offers a Hospitality Services Management program.

School of Hotel & Restaurant Management (part of Northern Arizona University) -  Located near the large forests of Flagstaff, this school offers a Hotel & Restaurant Management program as well as an International Hospitality Management program.

Phoenix College -  Located in the city it is named after, this college offers a Hospitality & Recreation Marketing program.

Maricopa Skill Center - Sunny Phoenix is home to the Maricopa Skill Center, which offers a meat-cutter program.

Scottsdale Community College - Scottsdale residents can attend their local community college and enroll themselves in this Culinary Arts Degrees program.

Pima College Center for Training and Development - This Tucson based institution offers a variety of programs including: Food and Beverage/Restaurant Management, Kitchen Personnel/Cook Training, Culinary Arts & Related Services and Culinary Arts/Chef Training.

Arizona Western College - This college, located near the California-Arizona border, offers programs in Hospitality Services Management and Food & Nutrition Studies.

*According to the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) May 2009
** According to the National Restaurant Association

For a much more comprehensive list of books for aspiring culinary, baking and restaurant management students, I suggest checking out my post on books for future culinary students and chefs.