Alumni Spotlight: Carlos Jimenez
For Carlos Jimenez, continuing community college just wasn’t in the cards.
The California native moved to Fort Worth five years ago with his parents after his dad found a new job in the DFW area. With a passion for food he’s had since childhood, Jimenez decided to research culinary schools instead of traditional colleges upon arrival.
“My desire to cook vastly outweighed my desire to keep studying business,” he says.
Jimenez’s time in the kitchen started when he was a kid, helping his mother and grandmother prep meals for the family.
“As cheesy as it may sound, I also enjoyed watching Food Network reality cooking shows, like Chopped and Iron Chef America,” he says. “I also liked shows about the science side of cooking, like Good Eats. But growing up and going through school, I never thought I could do it as a career.”
The Culinary School of Fort Worth was conveniently located and fit within his budget, he says. The program’s fast-paced nature (like that of a real restaurant) kept him on toes, making it essential to pay attention, stay caught up with reading assignments, and take advantage of after-class activities.
“The Culinary School of Fort Worth gave me a solid foundation of knowledge of food, technique, and networking to take my first step into the culinary industry,” says Jimenez, who’s now the sous chef at Marcus Paslay’s authentic Italian concept, Piatello Italian Kitchen, located in WestBend.
As for his future endeavors, Jimenez hopes to explore more aspects of the culinary industry, including pastry.
“Ideally, I’d like to be well-rounded as a chef but ultimately end up fully dedicated to the pastry side of food,” he says.
To those considering enrolling in the Culinary School of Fort Worth, Jimenez highly recommends the program.
“If the desire is to learn to create excellent and creative things with food, you’ll definitely find that at the Culinary School of Fort Worth with the help and guidance of the chef instructors.”
How Culinary Students Get Hired: Inside the CSFTW Externship
Will culinary school actually get you a job? See how The Culinary School of Fort Worth’s externship places students in top kitchens — and gets them hired.
From Nursing to Executive Chef: Chef Caitlyn Gurke-Halcomb’s Journey
From leaving nursing to Executive Chef at Trophy Club Country Club — how CSFTW alumna Caitlyn Gurke-Halcomb built a fast-rising culinary career.
New 36-Month Payment Plan for Culinary School | CSFTW
Culinary School of Fort Worth graduate Kaleb Krueger is the new Executive Chef at the historic Hotel Retlaw — a line-cook-to-the-top success story.
THE CULINARY SCHOOL OF FORT WORTH
Most schools can teach you the techniques of cooking and baking but The CSFTW excels at preparing you for the real-world kitchen. With our small class sizes and chef instructors who are intentional with every student, you will receive more one-on-one instruction and insight. Our school boasts in preparing students to exemplify excellence in their culinary community. We are a small, unique school that focuses on the student’s needs and we take great joy in seeing our students succeed in the culinary industry.
