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Philadelphia Culinary Schools Dish Up a Top Culinary Education

by BJ Fairfax
CulinaryEd Columnist

May 19, 2011

Rich with American history and East Coast culinary traditions, Philadelphia is a great city for potential chefs to consider when investigating Pennsylvania culinary schools. As the sixth largest city in the United States, Philadelphia is home to more than 1.4 million people. The Philadelphia metropolitan area has a population of around 5.8 million people.

Within this cultural hub of the East Coast, Philadelphia culinary students should find not only a huge array of restaurants, but also plenty of other entertainment, both modern and historical.

Culinary History in Philadelphia
Students considering Philadelphia culinary schools most likely know that this city is famous for a certain sandwich--the Philly Cheesesteak. Pat and Harry Olivieri, two brothers who ran a hot dog stand, are said to have created the sandwich around 1930. The combination of chopped up steak on a hoagie roll grew so popular that they opened their own restaurant, Pat's King of Steaks, which is still in operation today. Soon after, melted cheese was added to this Philadelphia classic.

As one of the first capitals of the United States, and the heart of the original 13 American colonies, Philadelphia has much food history to offer students of culinary schools. Restaurants such as Pat's date back quite a few years, and the diverse nature of Philadelphia makes for many ethnic eateries as well.

Cultural History in Philadelphia
Developed by European settlers in the late 1600s, Philadelphia was named for the Greek philos, meaning love or friendship, and adelphos, meaning brother. Thus the city is often referred to as the City of Brotherly Love.

When they're not learning from teachers in the culinary schools and culinary programs of the Philadelphia area, potential chefs should have much to learn from the city itself. A simple walk through downtown Philadelphia may be a history lesson in itself.

Source
Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau



About the Author
BJ Fairfax holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She writes for a variety of print and online publications.

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