Culinary Institute of America

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is the only residential college in the world with a curriculum devoted to the culinary profession. First known as the New Haven Restaurant Institute, it was founded in 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, as a vocational training school for World War II veterans. Demand for food-service professionals in a burgeoning industry sparked rapid expansion, and in 1947 the cooking school moved to larger quarters and was renamed the Restaurant Institute of Connecticut. In 1951 the school became known as the Culinary Institute of America.