Chef School Review is a guide to chef schools offering education, diplomas, and degree programs (including Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Programs) in cooking and culinary arts.

By Kirk Bangstad
Kirk.bangstad@chefschoolreview.com
Chef School Review Columnist

Popular Seafood Dive Serves up Culinary Delights

In a recent article in Southern Living Magazine, three writers were asked to scour the southern coastline of the U.S. to find the best seafood dives. A great seafood dive is almost a contradiction in terms. In order to make the cut, a restaurant had to be next to the beach, inexpensive, laid-back, and above all, it had to serve up delicious culinary delights. The winning seafood dive restaurant in this article was one located in Atlantic Beach, NC. It is called The Crab's Claw, and the writers raved about Executive Chef Antoinette M. Oberci's Original Spicy Crab Dip, which consists of blue crab meat, cream cheese, and spices.

Culinary School Graduate's Hard Work is Paying Off

Oberci is the owner of the restaurant, and a culinary school graduate. According to the restaurant's website, her culinary education equipped her with an extensive background of food, wine, and pastries. Apparently, she has won a number of awards for her creative versions of Tiramisu.

The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) prepares more students in the Chicago area for successful careers in food service than any other culinary school — using the traditional, European hands-on approach to culinary education that was previously difficult to obtain in the Midwest. Affiliated with the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, CHIC combines classical cooking techniques with leading-edge American technology.

Oberci's Story Useful for Aspiring Chefs

If you're an aspiring chef, you should learn from Oberci's successes. Not only did she hone her cooking skills at a culinary arts school, but she successfully opened her own restaurant and managed to get a few good reviews in prominent magazines. These reviews helped spread the word about her skills, leading many more people to come to her restaurant.

First Step: Get a Culinary Education

Before you can enjoy the benefits of owning a popular restaurant, you need to know how to impress a crowd with your food. Unless you've grown up in the restaurant business, you'll probably have to study culinary arts. You should be able to find some reputable culinary arts schools in your area by doing a little Internet research. Once you've located a few, call them up, talk to some graduates, and determine which school will be best for you. Once you've picked up some tools of the trade, you'll be that much closer to launching your culinary career.

About the Author

Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University

Posted on September 29, 2005 at 11:52 AM

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