Dishing up a culinary career at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale

Hispanic Times Magazine, Fall, 2003

Imagine this ... 23 miles of beaches, water taxi rides along the Intracoastal, swimming, sailing, diving fishing, shopping, Broadway-style theatre, entertainment centers. museums and galleries for all ages, and then there are the avenues and boulevards lined with world-class restaurants! Get the picture? Combine all these ingredients together and you will experience Fort Lauderdale, a multi-faceted jewel along the east coast of Florida. What an environment to arouse all the senses!

Turning passions into professions is what happens to Culinary Arts graduates of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (AiFL). Established in 1991, The Culinary Arts program has been dedicated to training and educating students to grow and flourish in today's food industry. The college is a special place where over 400 Culinary Arts students from across the United States and around the world come to express their creative skills in a "hands-on'" environment. Students from over 60 foreign countries attend The Art Institute of Fort Landerdale, representing 15% of its total student body of over 3,500 studying various programs in design, media and culinary arts. Degrees range from Bachelor, Associate and Diplomas. AiFL's divers and talented students compliment the creative energy that abounds on campus. Think of the college as a mini United Nations with creative and artistic students from Venezuela, Columbia, Brazil, Jamaica, Thailand, Russia, and Germany, among other countries.

Located just 20 miles north of Miami, Fort Lauderdale offers so many things for so many people, particularly those who are looking for a quality education that prepares them for a long and successful career, especially in the field of culinary arts and management. The culinary industry is really cookin' these days with record numbers of high school students setting their sights on entering the culinary profession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, increases in population, personal incomes, and leisure time mean that Americans are eating out more often. What's more, employment of restaurant and food service managers is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2006. Even the lawyer. biologist or real estate broker who loved experimenting in the kitchen since childhood, yet followed a different career path, are looking for career changes and pursuing their dreams.

Students are surrounded by established culinary chefs in a setting that encourages and supports professional creative endeavors. One of the most respected professionals in the country who mentors, trains, and educates Culinary Arts students at The Art Institute Of Fort Lauderdale is Program Chair and Master Chef Klaus Friedenreich CMC, AAC. Chef Klaus, as he is called on campus, is one of only 59 Certified Master chefs in the United States as recognized by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and he is the recipient of the 2001 ACF National Chef of the Year award. Chef Klaus' career is overflowing with accolades and is filled with significant contributions to culinary arts. They include Florida State champions at the Florida Restaurant Association International Foodservice Expo; five-time winner of the Florida Trend's Golden Spoon Award; Executive Chef at Orlando's Carlton House. Maison et Jardin; Executive Vice President of the United States Chef's Open; and advisor to world champion United States Culinary Olympic Teams. He has led many of his student culinary teams to victories in numerous competitions around the United States since 1991. including last year's team that won State and Regional Gold medals, and a Silver medal in the National competition in Las Vegas. Chef Klaus takes tremendous pride in his students, maintains an interest in their futures and smiles with satisfaction at their culinary triumphs.

One of the recent successes that Chef Klaus has been following is Jorge Montes, of Miami, who graduated with an associate degree in Culinary Arts in September 2003. In a short period of time, the 22-year-old has gone from apprentice to assistant chef and instructor at Two Chefs restaurant in Miami. Born in Lima, Peru, Jorge came to the United States at the age of nine. "After graduating from high school," says Jorge. "I started my apprenticeship at the Two Chefs restaurant and enrolled in The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale's Culinary Arts program." Jorge enthusiastically dove into his education and became a team member of the prestigious Junior Culinary Competition Team that went to the National competition last year along with his teammates Eric Kalaboke, of New York, Carolina Romero, of Venezuela, Fernando Sanchez, of the Dominican Republic, and Crystal Haire, of Florida. "The team and the competitions taught me a lot about dedication and clearly, motivation," says Jorge. "I learned how important good teamwork is in obtaining a mutual goal. I wish to excel in my career and I think that this experience and the quality work the team has to commit to, will help me accomplish my goals."