Johnson & Wales University

Paul’s YER ( Unilocal Elite Review): EASILY 5 STARS!
This review is SOLELY for their Chef’s Choice program, not their academic program since I am well past college years! (Though I HEAR from current and past students that it is an excellent school!).
Their Chef’s Choice program caters to people like me… Foodies, Home Cooks, and people just wanting to learn more about various forms of cooking. They have every style covered, like «Boot Camp» where they teach you the very basics of cooking (sauteeing, roasting, making sauces, stocks, butchering a chicken, basic knife skills, etc.), to French, Italian, Spanish, Thai, Mexican, Baking, Wines, etc. ad nauseum. I’ve now taken about 27 of these classes. At $ 150.00 a pop, yes I’ve spent a lot here. But here’s what you get: A World Class cooking facility. AT LEAST 4 Hours of Fantastic PROFESSIONAL Chef’s Time. JWU Student Assistants to help you. They provide knives and all the cooking tools that the Students use. Oh, and this includes a Smörgåsbord of food that IS provided to you… you just have to prepare it. And THAT is why I take these classes! More often than not you leave STUFFED. And sometimes, IF they have the disposable containers, they will let you take your leftovers home.
Folks, this is SO TOTALLY WORTH EVERY PENNY I’VE INVESTED! Yes, I view this as a LIFE investment! I’ve always thought I’ve been a pretty damn good cook my whole life. Now after taking these courses, I know that I REALLY know SO VERY LITTLE! I’m humbled by what I have learned, and I have become a 100 000 000% BETTER home chef because of it! I’ve learned how to make Tuscan Braised Pork Belly, Pomme de Terre Dauphinois (French Custard/​Cheese Potatoes), Mushroom Tart appetizers, Bourbon Pecan Tarts… God I don’t know WHERE to stop! I’ve learned a TON!
And I’ve met some amazing people! I’ve become good friends with one of my instructors and his wife (who also teaches there).
I’m telling you that this is a DEAL of DEALs. Go to the Johnson & Wales website, click on the Charlotte section, and look up «Chef’s Choice.» My strong recommendation is to sign up for the 5 week Bootcamp. I learned SOOOOOOO much in that class. But if $ 650 is too much for you to handle, you can take ANY class offered. Boot camp is NOT a pre-​requisite for any course. It WOULD help if you have SOME knife skills and know a LITTLE of how to cook. But trust me I’ve seen some people who could barely boil water so that shouldn’t stop you.
IF you want to improve your cooking skills in any area, take some Chef’s Choice courses at JWU. You’ll thank me later.
Ciao!

Went for a tour of the campus with my friend Amy and my daughter Kerri who is an aspiring pastry chef. Very diverse crowd attended. We were able to see all aspects of campus life — classes had ended for the summer so it was quiet. The surrounding area is beautiful, with lots of options for walking around. The tour was a few hours long — I lost track — but it was longer than 2 hours as the website claims. A fair amount of walking was involved, so plan accordingly. We were able to meet with an admissions rep which was very helpful. My daughter, if accepted, will go using a GI Bill so the rep advised they have someone especially for Veteran’s Affairs which will be helpful later. Beautiful campus, beautiful area — we fell in love with Charlotte over just 2 days. Enjoy.

Beautiful campus but don’t bring any drinks into the conference rooms.