Many promises were made at the initial interview with Admissions. Promises were made, but not fulfilled. I was told this was a state-of-the-art facility in Farmington, CT but yet, once enrolled, I found very old equipment, a lack of working equipment, kitchens not equipped to handle the amount of students in each class, and dirty kitchens.
The Institute has day and evening classes. I was in the part-time evening class. Countless times I would enter the kitchen to find greasy utensils, bowls poorly cleaned that still had bits of food stuck inside, floors that did not appear to be swept or mopped, etc. The equipment was so old that it was cracked in spots, held together with electrical tape, and mixing machines that often dripped grease into whatever it was that we were mixing.
Whoever was in charge of ordering ingredients and supplies was not trained properly and did a very poor job. Many times, our chef instructors had to run out to the local grocery store because we ran out of eggs. Or sugar. Or some other very vital ingredient that should have been a standard item for our pastry and baking class. There was only one ice cream maker to accommodate 3 pastry and baking classes, yet there were approximately 20 students in the 3 kitchens and we had to share. I had to actually go out and purchase my own ice cream maker at one point because I had an exam coming up and I was afraid I would not have the maker available to me to use.
During the admissions process, I was told that after the classroom sessions were complete that I would be assisted with finding a place to complete my externship. The "assistance" was poor. There is a bulletin board where externship opportunities and jobs were posted, but many of these postings were months old, and were for full time work. Being a part time student and already maintaining a full time job, I could not take part in these opportunities.
Admissions also advised that there would be job placement assistance. This is not the case. The individuals in charge of helping with externships and job placement were not very helpful.in fact, I had to approach them to explain the externship process and how it worked. Even then, they did not describe it very well, and did not provide me with viable leads.
Although a form was signed in the orientation wherein foul language was not permitted in the classroom, there is actually a Chef there whose language is totally unacceptable. I heard him use the "F" word often. And he was degrading and condescending to one of the dishwashers of Spanish descent, saying to him "I don't care if you don't speak English. Do the dishes!"
Although my Chef instructors were awesome, I feel that the Institute failed to follow through on their promises to me. The Institute is not state-of-the-art. The Farmington campus is dirty, and inadequate for students' needs. I would not recommend this school to anyone looking to complete a culinary program. The part time program costs about $15,000 to attend for 9 months. It's a ripoff.
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