I will soon be finishing up my last wilton course and I would really like to continue learning the craft but I have no idea where to go from here. I live in NJ and I'm married so enrolling in an out of state culinary school is out of the question. There is so much more that I want to learn but I don't know where to go. Does anyone know of a school in NJ or eastern PA that would worth looking into?

Check out your local ICES chapter. You can gain a world of knowledge if you have a decent chapter. Go to ices.org and see if they have a link for your state rep.

Seriously, you can continue to learn from the internet, books & videos too.

The county where I live in VA offers a lot of cake classes through their adult education program. It's great--classes are held at night at local highschools. Check out the web site for your county's public school system and see if they have a similar program.

I think Collette Peters does some classes in NJ. Also try NY. There may be a Day long or weekend class that is worth going into the city for. There are classes with SERIOUSLY GOOD decorators. I would take advantage if I still lived there.

I'm attending the Wilton School outside Chicago. I'll be taking the Masters course for the next two weeks. We have lots of culinary students in the classes because many culinary schools often gloss over cake decorating.

For the price, the Wilton school classes are real bargains compared to many places. For the Masters, it will cost about $11.50/hr. A Colette Peters or Nicholas Lodge course at Wilton will run about $17.50/hr.--the best prices anywhere for that level of instruction.

I know it's out of town, but if you can arrange a one or two week "vacation" to the western suburbs of Chicago, you'll have the time of your life. This time here, my family is with me--including the cat--but I've been out here on my own, too. This time, we're staying at the Marriott Town Place Suites in Lombard in the equivalent of a small apartment. The rates for long stays--over 4 nights--are a Wilton negotiated rate and very reasonable. We use the Metra train to go into downtown Chicago and go to events, shows, etc. I get to "play/learn" all day--and I love it!

Just a thought,
Rae