Missouri culinary school enrollment surges

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The stagnant economy is pushing more prospective workers in Missouri into the kitchen.

The state Department of Higher Education says enrollment in postsecondary culinary arts programs was up by more than 500 percent last year compared with 1999. Enrollment has grown by 62 percent in just two years.

More than 2,600 students were enrolled in such programs last year, compared with fewer than 500 in the year 2000. And the number of Missouri colleges with culinary arts programs has grown from four to 11 since 2001.

Among those receiving training at L'Ecole Culinaire in St. Louis were displaced General Motors factory workers who received government employment training after losing their jobs.