Culinard was a

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs ...

school owned by Education Corporation of America. It was opened in 2000 as part of the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

branch of Virginia College. The second campus was opened with the establishment of the

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

branch of Virginia College in 2009. Additional Culinard campuses operated at Virginia College campuses in Mobile, Alabama;

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;

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, and

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. This school shut down in December 2018 because Educational Corporation of America shut down. Culinard offered two 36-week educational programs: a Culinary Arts Diploma and a Pastry Arts Diploma. An online Culinary Arts associate degree is also available if certain criteria are met e.g. having already had formal training in culinary skills at a post-secondary level.

Teaching faculty

The school's Culinary Dean is Chef Antony Osborne, a European Master Pastry Chef with educational degrees earned and experience training with culinary institutes such as Westminster College and the

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of London, Slough Polytechnic University in England and

Sullivan University Sullivan University is a private for-profit university based in Louisville, Kentucky. It is licensed to offer certificates and diplomas, associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education a ...

in Kentucky. Osborne is a recipient of the Golden Lion Award, the highest culinary award in Asia, and was named one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in the United States in 2006. Twenty-nine other Culinary and Pastry chef instructors at Culinard contribute a variety of international experience, cultural diversity and professional expertise to the teaching curriculum. They have received local and international awards and participated in several TV episodes of

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’s “ Unwrapped,” “Dining Around,” "Sugar Inventions Challenge” and programs on the

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. Faculty member Chef Daniel Navarro won an

American Culinary Federation The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was established in 1929 in New York City and is the largest professional chefs' organization in North America. It was the progeny of the combined visions of three chefs' associations in New York City, the Soci ...

competition that rewarded him with an opportunity to train in France at the Bocuse Institute for a year. Chef instructor Mary Schaefer has a website with her husband called yourallergychefs.com that addresses the issue of cooking for people with food allergies.

Awards

Culinard was named among the nation's best culinary programs in 2011 by

Chef2chef Chef2Chef.net is a culinary website with recipes, columns, food-related forums and blogs, chef interviews, and online cooking classes. The site has an index and search tool that includes culinary schools in the U.S. and around the globe with info ...

a culinary web portal.

Restaurants

Culinard operated four public restaurants that are teaching establishments for the staff of professional chefs to provide a learning lab environment for the culinary and pastry arts students. The Café at Cahaba Grand is located in the Cahaba Grand Conference Center in

and used to offer a full hot breakfast and lunch daily. The Café at Innovation Depot is a 3,700-square-foot European-style bakery that was open to the public and featured baked goods, gelato and catering services. Century Restaurant and Bar is located in the 98-year-old Tutwiler Hotel in

. Kitchen on George, located in the Oakleigh Historic District of Mobile, Alabama, offered fresh, contemporary American food in a casual atmosphere.

Accreditation

Culinard is a college formerly accredited by the

ACICS The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is a non-profit education corporation that was recognized until 2021 by the United States Department of Education as an independent and autonomous national accrediting body. ...

and its programs are accredited by the

Notable alumni

*Dr. Luis Pineda, an oncology/hematology physician in

. Pineda is the author of ''Prescription to Taste: A Cooking Guide for Cancer Patients''. He also conducts "Cooking with Cancer" programs at various venues across the U.S. *Chef Guy Rogers of The Colony of the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort in Point Clear, Alabama; Chef Eric Helfinstine with 7 Place Café in Clanton, Alabama; Daniel Millsap of Bistro Aix in

; and Executive Chef Carl Tilley of Kitchen on George, Mobile, AL who is the 2014 Lagniappe Magazine Best Chef.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Culinard Cooking schools in the United States United Hotels Company of America Educational institutions disestablished in 2018 Defunct private universities and colleges in Alabama