Culinary Institute of Virginia Norfolk

Going from Combat boots to Crocs has been an amazing journey in my life. I have had the most amazing instructors at CIV. Everyone is friendly and helpful when you need help. Experiences vary from person to person but I believe, it’s all what you make of it. If you join the culinary community to just pick up a paycheck then this is not for you. But if you have a passion for food and love the culinary side of the working world then I highly suggest coming here. Everything is fast paced and prepares you for the most difficult kitchens.

Sure I like to eat good food but I find it even more rewarding to spend time in my kitchen doing what I love and make it myself. I explored VB and Norfolk a year or so ago to find a way to increase my kitchen skills. Most options were to enroll in a cooking school to get an AAS or BA, been there done that, paid off those bills a long time ago. The C I of V told me about their Casual Gourmet classes. I have taken classes on Authentic Pub Food, Pizza Making with crust from scratch, breaking down many types of whole fish and now a three part class (3 hrs each) on recipes from Virginia Willis’ cook book, «Bön Appetit, Y’all».
Most of the students (we are all well into adulthood) already know at least the basics of cooking but we still learn things that we didn’t know before. If you want to spend 3 hours some evening increasing your knowledge of cooking sign up for a class. Maybe I’ll see you there.

I came to the Institute to film a promotional video for Taste of Hampton Roads and I had the pleasure of meeting most of the people here. Chef Jonathan was very gracious and friendly and I had a really fun time meeting the students and the atmosphere is genuine and full of fun. I could tell that the students here really love to learn :)

A bored kid from Jersey and a State with not that much going on means that I took another Casual Gourmet… This time around it was «Mexican 101» which took place just before Cinco de Mayo. The class was headed up by the same Chef as before, Chef Jeff and this time was drastically different in the size of the class. This one was only five people, in addition one of my coworkers managed to make it out so a familiar face in the cafeteria holding area when you arrive.
«The Good»
— I love me some Mexican food… Its falls under the joke of How many dishes can you make with four ingredients. but like a lot of things in life its not what you use but how you make it.
— Again, the class started on time and a brief explanation of what we were going to learn to make, what was started already and how much time each phase would take. It is very comforting to know what is going on and the way the classes are run they let you know a game plan and help you get there… this is just good attention to detail.
— The menu consisted of things I would not normally order off of a Mexican Menu and one of my favorites. We had Ceviche, tamales (Which were amazing), shrimp and mushroom quesadillas and some kick ass pico de gallo., Fresh Chips.
— We again demolished the finished meal at the end.
— Chef Jeff knows that salt is a good condiment as opposed to something that should not be used…
— There were just a handful of assistant’s from the school helping this time around, but it was enough for the size of the class.
— The smaller class is great, more interaction with the Chef and the Student Chefs was perfect.
–There was an event going on in another class and the volunteers were talking about the five people making all the Mexican food and commented that they signed up for the wrong event. Also, when one of the Head Chefs comments on a tamale you know you are in some good company.
— Chef Jeff did a great job and was able to calmly juggle everything going on with a barrage of questions, tasks to complete and the real world happening right outside the door.
— The Student Chefs were fantastic and will make great additions to any kitchen they work at, they helped when they knew the answer, offered advise from the classes they learned already and were respectful enough to ask the Chef when they did not have the answer. Great people.
— I did secure another CIV apron and may start to put some kill markings of the classes I have taken, yeah I have free time ;)
«The Meh»
— Due to time we could not work on the entire menu, I saw how the tamales were made and I have made them since, but I did not make them that night… I ate my fair share, but did not make any ;)
«The Bad»
— Again nothing bad to comment on, this really is something very cool to do.

I’m currently a student here, and I’m very happy with my experience. The instructors are all professional, and certified by the ACF in their respective fields. I don’t know that I’ve had an instructor who HASN’T worked as an executive chef or owned their own restaurant at some point. That insight into your future is very valuable. Every instructor I’ve had has infectious enthusiasm for teaching us their trade, and even though I work full time and it’s exhausting me to go — I look forward to every class.
My only complaints are tied to ECPI. CIV is actually the School of Culinary Arts for ECPI. ECPI’s policies/​support of the school are sometimes shady at best. First — during a blizzard in Virginia Beach, ECPI responded that «if 7-​Eleven is open, we’re open.» Way to think about the safety of your students/​instructors. I trekked in — and then STILL had to make up the class because of the instructors that said «screw this.» Second, a lot is web-​based. Not a problem — if ECPI could keep the internet up in the school. Internet goes down for HOURS at a time probably twice a week on campus. Third, for $ 36,000 per student — you think ECPI would let us keep our culinary books. NOPE. We’ve only got to keep 2 so far — and I’m in my 7^th semester.
Oh, and I have a Bachelor’s Degree from the US Naval Academy, and I’m halfway through a Master’s program at Embry Riddle, and ECPI only transferred 3 classes. It’s all about the money!
Very happy with Culinary Institute of Virginia, but wish they weren’t associated with ECPI.