Cooking School in Center Valley, PA's Agricultural Eden
By Sonja Albrecht
Center Valley, PA is a small farming and college town in eastern Pennsylvania. The town’s dual educational-agricultural identity makes it an ideal setting for a cooking school. You’ll pursue your culinary degree surrounded by the raw materials of the trade: apples, grain, livestock, dairy products, chickens, and wine.
Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s primary industry, and Center Valley, PA lies in the heart of farm country. For cooking school students, this means you’ll have a bounty of fresh foods at your fingertips, and plenty of native flavors to inspire your craft.
Your culinary degree program will introduce you to the methods and refined tastes of cosmopolitan cuisine. But outside the cooking school classroom, you’ll encounter the regional cuisine that makes Center Valley, PA unique. The Manor House Inn, a 17th-century stagecoach stop, offers elegant French cuisine and an impressive wine list. A bit further afield in Allentown and Bethlehem, you’ll find traditional Pennsylvania Dutch specialties, trendy Asian fusion dishes, and everything in between.
As you pursue your culinary degree, take time out to explore the Eden beyond your cooking school’s kitchens. Autumn is strikingly beautiful in the Lehigh Valley, when the colors begin to change and the crops are ready for harvest. It’s a great time to hike the countryside or visit a corn maze. Not far from Center Valley, PA, small farms give way to wine country; the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail where you can sample the region’s finest wines.
Don’t let Center Valley, PA’s small town atmosphere fool you. In addition to world-class cooking schools, the region offers plenty of inspiration and culinary innovation to keep any gourmand happy.