FOR a lot of people, cooking is a tiresome chore, an unavoidable necessity for survival. But for some very special people, cooking is a passion. Being privileged to taste their culinary concoctions is like getting front row seats to a Broadway play starring Meryl Streep herself.

If you are one of these select few who have been blessed with culinary talent, you need a place where your gift can be harnessed, nurtured and shared.

Fortunately these days, there is a growing number of culinary schools where you can turn this gift into a career. Here are just some of the schools and courses available around Metro Manila.

Center for Culinary Arts. Katipunan main campus, 28 Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. www.cca-manila.com

The Center for Culinary Arts, according to its founder, Susana Guerrero, is the only academic institution in the Asia Pacific accredited by the American Culinary Federation Foundation.

CCA offers a two-year diploma course in Culinary Arts & Technology Management that arms graduates with cooking skills as well as business smarts to run their own restaurant. There is also a one-year certificate program that gives students the basics for a career in the food preparation and service industry.

There are also shorter programs for career shifters or hobbyists. The Fast Track Pro Chef program is a six-month course held at Oceana in San Miguel by the Bay at the SM Mall of Asia. By the fourth month, the students get to participate in the day-to-day operations of the Oceana Restaurant.

For hobbyists or those looking to improve their cooking skills, CCA offers a 13-day program. Aspiring pastry chefs can choose the two-year or one-year diploma or certificate courses in Baking and Pastry Arts.

At the end of the programs, students are offered assistance for further education in partner schools abroad. Students thus get a chance to earn a four-year Bachelor?s degree from such prestigious international institutions as Les Roches School of Hotel Management in Switzerland, or the William Angliss Institute in Australia.

CCA counts among its instructors respected industry professionals, among them Melissa Sison, a product of Les Roches who has once worked her magic for such local restaurants as Salumeria, MyLK, Butter Diner, Mr. Rockefeller and the Oyster Boy group of restaurants.

Among the CCA graduates now making their mark in the culinary industry are Chefs Joanne Limoanco and Paolo Sia, who serve as corporate chefs for Unilever Philippines, Chef Nikki Nicolas who is a partner in SumoSam, Red Crab and Café Tentitas, and Chefs Darlo Lopez, Rosebud Benitez and Nino Logarta who are familiar faces to TV viewers for having hosted QTV 11?s ?Ka-Toque: Lutong Barkada.? And then there?s Chef Tristan Encarnacion, who greets televiewers each morning with his tasty concoctions on ?Unang Hirit.?

Cost: Tuition starts at P49,800 for the 13-day course.

Enderun Colleges. 1100 Campus Avenue, McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. www.enderuncolleges.com

Enderun Colleges offer a full range of degree and non-degree courses in the fields of international hospitality management and business administration. Through its partnership with the Alain Ducasse Formation in France, students undergo rigorous training in culinary methods under the watchful eyes of Alain Ducasse?s culinary team.

For aspiring chefs and restaurateurs, there are bachelor degree courses in International Hospitality Management, with specializations in Hotel Administration and Culinary Arts. Also offered are Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. Faculty members include academics, industry professionals and business leaders, among them Chef See Cheong Yan, the Corporate Culinary Head, Chef Marc Chalopin, handpicked by the Alain Ducasse Formation as the ADF+Enderun executive chef, and Jack Tuason, who teaches International Tourism and Hospitality and has worked in some of the top hotels in the world.

To fully experience the complete learning process, students are required to take internships at the school?s over 150 industry partners, including international and local hotels and corporations. Enderun also runs an application restaurant called Restaurant 101.

Cost: Around P300,000 a year, inclusive of ingredients.

American Hospitality Academy Philippines. 108 Aguirre Building, H.V. dela Costa cor. Soliman Sts., Salcedo Village, Makati City. www.ahaphil.com

This school belongs to the AHA International Hotel Management Schools with sister schools in South Africa, India, Nepal, Romania and the United States. AHA Philippines offers a variety of programs and courses from five months to 2 ? years, among them the Associate in International Culinary Arts that allows hands-on experience combined with a liberal arts foundation. This program is capped with training and experience in the hospitality workplace through a six-month internship with AHA partner hotels in the United States.

Also offered are diploma courses in Culinary Arts, International Culinary Arts and International Culinary Entrepreneurship, as well as Certificates in Culinary Arts and Baking.

The faculty is composed of experienced educators from the University of the Philippines, Miriam College and Asian Institute of Management, among them Academic Director Dr. Corazon Gatchalian and Chef Gene Cordova, AHA?s President and Managing Partner who has over 20 years of work experience.

AHA offers career placement assistance through its partner hotels and cruise liners and operates a teaching restaurant called Upper East. Some of its alumni are: Chef Giney Villar, owner and executive chef of Adarna Food and Culture; Chef Mike Figdor, Chef de Partie at the Ritz Carlton Dublin, Ireland, and Chef Reggie James of AJ Café in Jacksonville, Florida, who also supplies AJ Ribs to the US Army worldwide.

Cost: For the Associate in Culinary Arts degree: (2 ? years) P366,000; Diploma course in Culinary Arts (6 months) and International Culinary Arts (9 months): P266,000; Professional Certificate in Culinary Arts (5 months): P100,000.

Miriam College. Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. www.mc.edu.ph

Miriam College offers a Culinary Arts major and minor for students who are pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the American Hospitality Academy Philippines. Students take their general education and business classes in Miriam and their culinary arts classes at AHA.

Miriam College also operates the Café Entrep on campus that gives culinary arts students a venue to practice their skills both as entrepreneurs and as chefs.

International School for Culinary Arts & Hotel Management. 4/F, FBR Bldg, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. www.iscahm.com

The International School for Culinary Arts & Hotel Management, more popularly known as ISCAHM, offers 14-month diploma courses in Culinary Arts and Kitchen Management and Pastry * Bakery Arts and Kitchen Management. ISCAHM also has a variety of certificate programs suited for working individuals, food enthusiasts or beginner cooks who simply want to learn more about the art of cooking.

Among its faculty are former hotel executives, executive chefs and pastry chefs of five-star international hotel chains, among them Chef Norbert Gandler, who has won numerous accolades in international competitions; Chef Ulrich Willimann with over 45 years of experience in various hotels in London, Vancouver and Manila, and Chef Pauline Lagdameo, who has worked with Top of the City, Le Souffle and Via Mare.

ISCAHM operates Aubergine and Patisserie at The Fort. Students will have the chance to work at Aubergine through their apprenticeship program that begins on the 7th month of their course. Career placement assistance is also available to graduates.

Some of the ISCAHM alumni are Martin Jickain, executive chef at Sofra Lounge Bar and Restaurant at The Fort; Cathy Resiree Choi, Kenneth Mallari and Kerpatrick Basser who are all working at the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Macau, and Charles Olalia is Chef de Partie at Wolfgang Puck?s French Laundry Restaurant in Chicago.

Cost: P361,000 for the 14-month diploma course, all inclusive.

Institute of Culinary Arts and Food Service @ Far Eastern University. Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue corner Malugay St., Makati City. www.icf.com.ph

Founded by the Pancake House, ICF@FEU offers a two-year Diploma in Culinary Chefs Training Program, a one-year Diploma in Baking and Pastry Chefs Training Program and short courses in under its Continuing Education Training Program. The two-year diploma course includes a 640-hour externship in a restaurant, hotel or catering kitchen. Students will also take a course in Professional Restaurant Operations at The Loop, the school?s training restaurant.

Through the Continuing Education Training Program, interested students can enroll in short courses that are more specialized. Hobbyists and food enthusiasts can enroll in Lifestyle and Recreational Courses, while the Allied Professional Courses take students on the foodservice management track.

The school?s faculty includes ICF Culinary Program head chef Joey Herrera, a gold medalist at the Food & Hotel Asia Expo in Singapore and at Chefs on Parade in 2008, and ICF Baking Program head chef Ramon Castillo, former Senior Pastry Cook for Mandarin Oriental, Manila.

So future chefs, take heart. There are a number of schools, courses and cooking classes where you can train under experts and get ready to cook up a storm anywhere in the world. Just remember, some of these schools require a high school diploma and may have strict application procedures, so it?s best to do some research first. Who knows? There just might be a Wolfgang Puck or Mario Batali lurking inside you.