The Culinary Institute of America is well regarded as the best culinary school in the United States. I was always curious on how the school cultivated many of the world’s most successful professional chefs.

During a visit to The Culinary Institute of America’s California campus, I was able to find some clues.

The Culinary Institute of America has four campuses in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore. The California campus nestles at the heart of the Napa Valley wine country, overlooking fields of grape yards and dozens of bustling wineries.

When I visited yesterday, the school was closed for the summer break, but luckily, there is a one-hour cooking demonstration open daily in the summer to food enthusiasts from around the world. The demonstration is to simulate an actual cooking class at the school by a regular instructor in a real classroom.

The instructor we had was Chef Ken, a…