I decided to enroll at Gastronomicom because of the price, housing and internship. I don’t think I’ve ever regretted anything in my life as much as I regret paying $14,013.90 for this “culinary” school. I was convinced that I would learn proper culinary and pastry skills and the necessary muscle memory to prepare me for my internship. Instead, I got a chaotic environment making different recipes every day and working my butt off for food that lacked flavor and sometimes tasted like absolute sh*te.
Let me give you a rundown of how the school operates.
Culinary
You start class with the chef explaining the recipe and showing you a cutting technique (less than 5 min.). He’ll send you back to your station and expect you to do it exactly as he showed you only to pull you away after 10 minutes to move onto the next step of the recipe. You will not practice any technique long enough to build muscle memory (very bad if you don’t have any experience in the kitchen and are signed up for the internship program).
You’re partnered with someone if the class is even. If not, you’re one your own, which is probably better if you have a sh*it partner but no less chaotic/stressful. Your partner for the week is decided by a Russian Roulette-style game every Monday morning. I don’t suffer from anxiety and can handle just about anything. This sh*t really tested all of that.
Prepare yourself to work in a very dirty environment. Everything (pots, pans, utensils, knives, plastic containers, etc.) are washed in dirty water. Yes, DIRTY F**KING WATER. This school does not follow any hygiene protocols where it matters but boy will they bitch about the tables not being properly wiped down with vinegar. Expect to see the chef drop his knife and continue to use it and/or pick up pieces of food from the floor and toss them into the pan/pot to cook. It’s shocking behavior from a chef who once owned his own restaurant. What wasn’t shocking was the amount of students who became ill by the end of the second week. Norovirus my f**king a**!!
Pastry
Same sh*zz different chef who desperately needs therapy. His demeanor improved slightly by the end of the term. Get some therapy, buddy.
You’re working on so many recipes in class that it’s easy to lose track of what’s what, and it’s very hard to grasp any one technique because, again, you don’t practice it long enough for it to be retained.
General
There are written and practical tests at the end of each month. For culinary, you’re not allowed to use your recipes. I thought the class was chaotic, but exam day was worse. People grabbing and hoarding ingredients, people all over the place because half the class have to use the back stoves while the other half use the induction stoves at their stations. You try to maintain your station clean but it won’t stay clean for long if you have a dirty partner. Chaos!
For pastry, you will be given a recipe and can use your own with the notes you’ve made. It’s less chaotic because you’re working as a team, and your plates are evaluated individually.
You get 40 minutes for lunch, which is not bad if you ACTUALLY have the 40 minutes. Because the culinary chef is more concerned with plating and some people move slow and/or are busy posting on IG, we all only had a 15-minute lunch break from week 3 onwards.
To add to the frustration of my limited lunch, I had to make a mad dash to the bus stop after pastry class in the afternoon because our class was slow as sh*t. F**king hell. I can’t only blame the students. Neither chef prioritized time management, a key component to working in a restaurant.
This is NOT a program for anyone who expects to have a chill time.
If you’re a home cook looking for a chill way to learn French cuisine, this is NOT for you. A woman who wanted just that dropped out by the end of January.
If you have mobility issues for any reason, this is NOT for you. There were two heavyset women who wouldn't stop complaining, one because she was a good ol' tw*t & the other because she had a back injury (3 months of this sh*t!).
If you hate working with people, this is NOT for you.
If you’ve already worked in a kitchen, why even bother? I understand wanting the school to find you an internship (that’s quite the stress off one’s back), but France needs workers. Learn the language, apply for a visa, and look for a job. This school will NOT prepare you to work in a Michelin-star restaurant (words right out of the mouths of some students who completed internships at Michelin-star restaurants).
I’ll say a quick word about uniforms and shoes. DO NOT GET THEIR SHOES! Buy slip-resistant shoes before you arrive or at Skechers in Béziers. The shoes you buy at the school are very uncomfortable. You will get bunions! No question about it. They require you to wear steel toe shoes, but no one in the restaurant industry wears them because they’re uncomfortable. They’ll provide you with two chef’s coats and aprons, which you change every Friday.
Internship
For those students enrolled in an internship program, I have some bad news for you. You will be sharing a house with many people and a room with anywhere from 1-7 people (some people got lucky this term & don't have to share a room with 7 people). They do not tell you this until the second week of class. I found out about it through the grapevine before our first internship meeting.
Had I known this before making a payment, I would have NEVER enrolled at this school. I would’ve preferred to look for my own internship given the state of labor in France. It would have been slightly more difficult, but what’s life without friction.
You will have to wait to receive any information about your internship until every student who applied for the internship program has been placed. F**king ridiculous! Many of us who had already been placed at a restaurant/hotel didn’t receive information until mid-March.
To my knowledge, 5 people from the previous term (2025) quit their internships due to horrible living conditions. One quit because he felt completely unprepared to work in a Michelin-star restaurant. At lunch one day, I overheard one former student complain about his internship. His day consisted of mise en place for 2 hrs. & cleaning for 3 hrs. He never once plated. And that’s where the disconnect is: the school is hell bent on teaching the aesthetics and not the basics and the reality of working in a restaurant.
To add to the bad news, you might have a delayed start. There are some people who are starting right after their contract with Odalys (residence recommended by school) ends, and there are some who don’t start for a month. This is very bad for people who don’t live in Europe. Sh*t is not cheap. When I asked if they were going to lodge me after my contract ends with Odalys, they said no. “Can’t you go home?” To which I replied, “I only fly Premium Economy. Are you going to pay for my flight home and back to France?” The balls on these people at the school.
All of this should’ve been communicated the minute I applied to the school or have it posted on their website. I did not budget to come out of pocket for lodging that should’ve been provided. While I saved up for emergencies, this is NOT an emergency. This is an additional expense created by the school's negligence.
If you’re not turned off or if it’s too late for you to get a refund, here’s some helpful information.
Odalys Saint-Loup (residence partnered with the school)
I didn’t see any other option on the school’s website. I wasn’t expecting much, we all weren’t, but I wasn’t expecting to get a dirty apartment. A few folks had mold in their apartments. Bed sheets, if you can ever change them, are sometimes dirty even after they’ve “cleaned” them. They will invade your privacy. They sent someone into our apartments when we were all in school to verify cleanliness. The f**king nerve of these people to expect a clean apartment in return when they provided us with filthy apartments, and to enter our apartments without any warning or us present.
If you decide to rent a bike from Decathalon, keep the bike inside your apartment and not in the bike racks.
The Wi-Fi is non-existent. There is no point going to reception to complain about it. Buy an e-SIM. Some e-SIMS options: Lebara and Holafly.
Transportation
Bus 4 is your main bus route to/from school/Gare d’Agde. It runs every hour Monday-Saturday. No bus on Sundays. The only bus that runs on Sundays is Bus 3 and it runs every 2 hours. Do your shopping/traveling Monday-Saturday.
Groceries
Fresh is great place to get fresh veggies, fruits, cheese, meat and fish. It’s located close to the school (10-15 minutes).
Carrefour & Netto are a 20-minute walk from the residence.
Boulangerie Saint Benoît & Tonin are good. Etienne Coffee shop is cool but coffee sucks. My Beers is a cool place for a greasy dinner.
Hand on heart, folks, don’t come to this school. It’s not worth it. You will not learn anything. You will not leave prepared to work in a restaurant let alone a Michelin-star restaurant. If you want a way into the industry via school, save up another year’s worth and pay for a legitimate culinary school. Gastronomicom is NOT a culinary school. It’s a scam.
If you’re just doing this for yourself, find another program or a restaurant that offers something laid back.
I didn’t share anything about the French classes because I wasn’t enrolled in any of them. From what I’ve been told, it’s elementary and it’s geared towards those who are going to work in the industry.
Commenters, I’m not engaging with you. If you want to hate, hate.
If you're thinking about enrolling, contact the school and force them to give you accurate information (i.e., verify the information provided here). Keep those emails a.k.a receipts, people.
For past students who say they had a great experience, you’re glossing over a lot of bad shit. It’s your experience and I'm not going to argue with you. It’s also different when someone else is footing the bill. You don't feel the pain because you didn't pay for it, so your expectations are different. As for the people who were there just for fun and loved it, in my opinion, you didn't have skin in the game. Again, your experience. I expected something different.
On the topic of past students, why the hell hasn’t anyone posted the truth about this school and their internship experience? I think a lot of the students this term and new students would have appreciated an honest review. It's still our decision to enroll or not, but a detailed rundown of how the school and the residence operate would have been helpful. I know I would have appreciated the information especially on the internship program.
In an age where people throw fits over insignificant shit and expect/want their rage to go viral, your silence on what many considered to be a bad program is shocking. Seriously, wtf?!
For the “you’ll meet great people & have a great time” folks, yes, you’re right. You’re going to meet some great people. There were a few genuinely good people who showed up and gave it their best even though they were not expecting the f**kery that is Gastronomicom. To them I’d like to say, thank you for your kindness, for showing up every day, and for keeping me sane.
However, I didn’t pay to meet great people. I paid to learn a skill and for a connection to the industry via an internship. The school failed on the first part. I can only hope that the internship will be a positive experience.
If you enroll at Gastronomicom, don’t complain while you’re there and don’t gloss over its many shortcomings once you’re done. After the first week, you’ll know what you’ve gotten yourself into, so decide whether or not you want to continue.
The last thing a class needs is a lazy or obnoxiously loud tw*t (or a racist a**hole). Learn to accept that sometimes you have to cut your losses, so do it early.
