Sommelier
Sommelier is a French term for cellermaster or wine steward. Sommeliers have a vast knowledge of the regions, grapes, vineyards and the vintages of an assortment of wines. If you are in an upscale restaurant and want to order some wine but are a little unsure about which kind to get - a sommelier is your answer. Call them over to your table and they will instinctively know which questions to ask to draw the necessary information out of you. What type of flavor are you looking? What type of wine do you like? What food are you expecting the bottle to compliment? With this knowledge they can pull a bottle of wine from the cellar that is specialized to your tastes.
Sommelier Training
Most sommeliers go to culinary school and enroll in as many classes that deal with tasting and wine as possible, including topics related to viniculture - the growing of grapes. Culinary school also gives you a good overall sense of food, what flavors compliment each other, and food service standards. Certification from a culinary school can go a long way towards starting a successful career. After graduating, most sommeliers begin by working under another sommelier's guidance - a kind of apprenticeship. This is the best way to learn all the tricks of the trade including reading customers correctly and up-selling. Sommeliers are people that have an innate taste for wines and know what is good and also what should stay in the cellar.
Job duties and prospects
After the apprenticeship, most sommeliers work independently and enjoy increased responsibility such as choosing the house wine for a restaurant or bar, a task considered very important as it defines the establishments' wine selections. Creating a wine list is a big responsibility and one that takes time and creativity. Sommeliers for top restaurants travel often to different regions to sample from vintners and build the wine list. After 10 years, a sommelier has usually built quite a career as a well-respected wine expert, a "master sommelier". They may be asked to write articles for magazines like The Wine Spectator or work as mentors to up-and-coming sommeliers.
Other duties of being a sommelier include knowing the terminology and being able to educate your customers about wine, whether they want to know terms, regions, tastes or any other questions they may have. Wine enthusiasts can be a demanding audience. After the wine has been selected, opened, allowed to breathe, and the restaurant patron is ready to taste comes the real test. A skilled sommelier is in a position to recommend and serve a part of a meal that can be truly memorable - a fine bottle of wine.
Featured Culinary Schools:
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California Culinary Academy - San Francisco, CA
If you’re passionate about pastries, the California Culinary Academy, located in San Francisco, can prepare you for success. Students receive the challenging, hands-on, real world experience needed for a career in culinary arts or hospitality in one of the world’s culinary capitals. Associate degrees are available in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts or Hospitality & Restaurant Management. Certificates are available in Baking and Pastry Arts. Perfect the talent you already possess and gain the experience you need to land that job at fine restaurants, top hotels, posh resorts, luxury cruise ships, pastry shops, and more.
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Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago - Chicago, IL
The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago was founded in May of 1983 by Linda Calafiore, a passionate cook who wanted to share her love of great food. The food service community responded with enthusiasm. As soon as the first students graduated, they were employed at major hotels and restaurants. To date, The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago has graduated thousands of professional cooks, bakers, and aspiring chefs who are now staffing some of the most prestigious restaurants in Chicago and the nation.
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Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College - Las Vegas, NV
Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas's Associate of Occupational Science Degree is a culinary arts degree designed to provide you with the theoretical foundation and technical skills necessary for you to succeed in the food service industry. We developed this curriculum in response to student interest and industry demands. This culinary arts program is aimed to give you the culinary education you'll need to enter the food service industry in entry to mid-level positions, and to advance through a variety of related positions.
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California School of the Culinary Arts - Pasadena, CA
The California School of Culinary Arts, located in Pasadena, CA, can train you with some of the best chefs in the business, and enhance your passion for food along you’re your skills, in only fifteen months. CSCA is one of the most well-known and respected culinary schools in the country. While studying at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program you will work with industry trained Chef Instructors and have the opportunity to take advantage of extensive job placement assistance.
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Scottsdale Culinary Institute - Scottsdale, AZ
Le Cordon Bleu Programs at Scottsdale Culinary Institute are designed to ensure that you are exposed to a diversified education in culinary arts with a unique combination of general education classes to broaden your knowledge, attitudes, and values to be successful. Students can experience real world conditions with L'Ecole and L'Academie Restaurants as their classrooms. L'Ecole has received Mobile's 3 Star student rating. Become a chef in only 15 months. Other graduates, who began their careers just like you, are working in leading restaurants, hotels and cruise ships around the world.
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Pennsylvania Culinary Institute - Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania Culinary Institute was founded in 1986 as a Branch Campus of the Sawyer School. PCI was well-known in the Pittsburgh area and beyond for providing a quality hands-on education and attracted students from across the United States. In the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program you can acquire knowledge and practical skills needed for careers like Caterer, Private Chef, or even Restaurant Owner. As a graduate, your Le Cordon Bleu credentials can give you an edge in starting a career with hotels, fine restaurants, private placement, country clubs, resorts and catering companies' world wide.
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Texas Culinary Academy - Austin, TX
Enhance your career and ensure your future with the Texas Culinary Academy, located in Austin, TX. The Academy has partnered with Le Cordon Bleu to offer students an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts. By combining classical French techniques with cutting-edge American technology, the program serves to educate aspiring chefs in the art of cooking. You will learn the culinary techniques of more than 25 foreign cuisines and earn your degree in only 15 months.
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Orlando Culinary Academy - Orlando, FL
The Orlando Culinary Academy, a Le Cordon Bleu school, provides educational programs that prepare culinary school students for professional opportunities and career success in the international hospitality industry by providing an individualized, hands-on education in the classic and modern culinary arts. Through the guidance of the faculty, theoretical concepts as well as practical and creative applications are addressed in the curricula and reinforced by interaction with professionals in the industry.
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts - Atlanta, GA
Located in Tucker, Georgia, the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts College offers students the unparalleled combination of renowned training and a city that's one of the world's top meeting, convention and tradeshow destinations. That means opportunity, excitement and fun while you learn. The College's association with Le Cordon Bleu represents a union of one of the finest in European and North American culinary arts training programs available today.
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Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Program at Brown College - Minneapolis, MN
Le Cordon Bleu Minneapolis / St. Paul offers the exciting Le Cordon Bleu Associate of Applied Science Degree programs that can get you prepared! Le Cordon Bleu Minneapolis / St. Paul is dedicated to providing quality culinary programs that are taught by staff of knowledgeable chefs and serve those seeking a solid foundation for their future. Le Cordon Bleu Minneapolis / St. Paul offers dynamic culinary programs to meet the needs of the industry and aspiring culinary students.
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami
Are you looking for culinary schools with an International Reputation? Start your career with a degree from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami. The Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Degree Program was designed to combine demonstration classes and hands-on, practical courses in professionally equipped, contemporary kitchens. As part of this innovative program, students explore and learn classical cooking methods and the qualitative aspects of food preparation, including nutrition and sanitation. Students who choose to step up and take on the challenge of going through the meticulous training are encouraged to explore their own style and creativity. As an added bonus, this program includes a liberal arts component that provides a solid academic foundation for your personal and professional growth.
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