FROM TRAINING WAR VETERANS TO TRAINING THE WORLD’S CHEFS
Frances Roth and Katherine Angell opened the institute in 1946, determined to establish a school that would become "the culinary center of the nation" and believing that America could have “the best meals on earth.” (Photos courtesy of Culinary Institute of America)
Restaurant Business Online Article
How the Culinary Institute of America Got Its Start The story of the Culinary Institute of America is especially interesting because it began as a response to a real foodservice labor need—not simply as a traditional college. In the mid-1940s, members of the New Haven Restaurant Association in Connecticut were facing a shortage of trained kitchen professionals. At the same time, thousands of servicemen and women were returning home from World War II and needed careers. The restaurant community saw an opportunity: train returning veterans for professional careers in foodservice. Attorney Frances Roth, working with Katharine Angell, helped turn the idea into reality. On May 22, 1946, the New Haven Restaurant Institute opened in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Its faculty initially consisted of just a chef, a baker, and a dietitian.
The concept took off quickly. In 1947, the school became the Restaurant Institute of Connecticut, and in 1951 it adopted the name The Culinary Institute of America, reflecting its increasingly national reach. By 1969, enrollment had grown beyond 1,000 students and the Connecticut facilities were no longer adequate. CIA purchased the former St. Andrew-on- Hudson Jesuit novitiate in Hyde Park, New York, in 1970 and opened its new campus there in 1972. In 1971, it became the first culinary college authorized to grant an associate degree in culinary arts. Today, CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore, and offers associate, bachelor's, master's, certificate, and professional programs
Hospitality News / National Edition / Sept 2026 / Page 52
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