There are many different culinary industry associations for all types of chefs and for the food service world in general. These culinary organizations can serve as great resources whether you are a professional chef, a head chef, an aspiring chef, a culinary student or any other player in the gastronomic industry. The following are considered to be the top 10 culinary organizations in food-industry circles:

1. The American Institute of Wine & Food: This educational nonprofit organization is dedicated to the pleasures, benefits and traditions of the table, with 31 chapters in the U.S. as well as a chapter in France.
2. Chefs Collaborative: A national network of more than 1,000 food community members supporting sustainable cuisine through local, seasonal and artisanal cooking.
3. International Association of Culinary Professionals: This 30-year-old group is one of the largest culinary industry associations, with more than 4,000 members in 32 countries. It is a nonprofit professional association that provides continuing education and professional development and sponsors the annual IACP Cookbook Awards, among other things.
4. The James Beard Foundation: This nonprofit organization was founded in 1985 on Julia Child’s suggestion to espouse the philosophy, ideals and practices of James Beard, the father of American gastronomy.
5. National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc: The NASFT has 19,000 members including manufacturers, distributors, importers, brokers, foreign government offices and other suppliers of specialty foods.
6. National Restaurant Association: This is the definitive membership-based business association in the restaurant industry with more than 30,000 members representing more than 175,000 restaurants since 1923.
7. New York Women’s Culinary Alliance: The NYWCA promotes cooperation and education among women in the food industry.
8. Roundtable for Women in Foodservice: For 17 years the RWF has organized foodservice professionals while providing educational, mentoring and networking opportunities to enhance the development and visibility of women. There are 10 U.S. chapters.
9. Slow Food: This is the largest of all the culinary organizations in the world. They are committed to supporting and promoting quality food and beverage patrimony.
10. Women Chefs & Restaurateurs: The WRC promotes the education and advancement of women in the restaurant industry, as well as the betterment of the industry as a whole.

Institutions offering quality Culinary Arts Programs include The International Culinary Institute at the Art Institutes, Le Cordon Blue Schools, The French Culinary Institute, The Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales University.

Find the perfect Culinary School or Culinary Arts Program today and start your path to a rewarding career.

Training to become a chef can get pricey, but fortunately there are culinary scholarships that help to reduce the burden and make it possible for many talented young chefs to get the education they need. Various organizations offer scholarships, grants and student aid for students attending culinary schools or programs. Individual schools may also offer student funding opportunities. Following are the top 10 culinary scholarships or resources that are available:

• The American Academy of Chefs: The academy offers culinary scholarships through the American Culinary Federation Foundation for high school students seeking culinary or pastry degrees, college students currently in such programs, professional chefs looking to further their education and student teams competing in Regionals or Nationals.

• International Association of Culinary Professionals Foundation: The foundation, located in Louisville, Kentucky, offers many resources for culinary students looking for funding.

• The Restaurant School: This institution awards $4,000 culinary scholarships to incoming freshman entering two-year or four-year programs in Culinary Arts or Pastry Arts.

• Scholarship Information from Starchefs: This organization provides detailed information on numerous culinary scholarships including the Starchefs/New England Culinary Institute (NECI) Scholarship Fund.

• Scholarship Listings from Chef2Chef: Current and prospective students can come to this online resource for information on the Chef2Chef Scholarship Fund as well as a list of organizations that have awarded culinary scholarships.

• Women Chefs & Restaurateurs: The WCR Scholarship & Internship Program disburses a total of $100,000 annually to aid in its members’ professional development.

• The Culinary Trust – IACP: This is the philanthropic wing of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, which offers culinary scholarships to students and professionals in the field.

• The James Beard Foundation Individual School Scholarships: This is a comprehensive list of all the culinary scholarships offered by individual schools.

• James Beard Foundation – Friends of James Beard Scholarships: These culinary scholarships are awarded in the names of people and groups that have donated money, raised funds and/or held events for the foundation.

• The Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation: This foundation provides culinary scholarships while promoting education and an interest in food and cooking to Chicago youth.

Determining the top 10 culinary schools in the United States is, of course, a subjective matter. There is more than one way to decide what the top school is, and everyone might have their own different set of criteria to judge these various schools and programs on. Some people might put more of an emphasis on the prestige of the school, while others might judge the programs on the chefs that have attended them, and others might be more interested in the programs teaching with more innovative techniques or using the best equipment. The following list of the top 10 culinary schools, however, was determined by a vote among chefs and other culinary professionals at the end of 2009.

These are the top 10 culinary schools in the United States of 2009 according to the Chef2Chef community with rank, school name, location, number of votes and score:

1. Texas Culinary Academy, Austin TX, 420 votes, 4.22 score
2. Culinary Institute of America – Hyde Park Campus, Hyde Park NY, 446 votes, 3.46 score
3. French Culinary Institute, New York NY, 124 votes, 2.95 score
4. JNA Institute of Culinary Arts, Philadelphia PA, 129 votes, 2.91 score
5. Scottsdale Culinary Institute, Scottsdale AZ, 164 votes, 2.83 score
6. Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids MI, 175 votes, 2.79 score
7. New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier VT, 78 votes, 2.77 score
8. Orlando Culinary Academy, Orlando FL, 21 votes, 2.76 score
9. The Art Institute of Dallas, Dallas TX, 4 votes, 2.75 score
10. Johnson & Wales University, Providence RI, 120 votes, 2.73 score

Now, if this were a list of the top 10 culinary schools in the world, it would be a completely different matter altogether. The Cordon Bleu in France would most likely be at the top of the list, for starters, as well as several other prestigious schools throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. The Culinary Institute of America would definitely still be on the list, but smaller schools like Grand Rapids Community College would not. But if you’re going to attend a culinary school in the U.S., these are the schools more professionals recommend.