Hello everyone I am a graduate of ITHQ in my opinion you will get a very strong understanding of all your basic cooking principles.The program is a very well rounded and the facilities are excellent.In my case I was fortunate enough to have Chef instructors that were very willing to not only prepare us for what was waiting for us in terms of basic cooking skills but also with a little glimpse of what the reality of the world of professional cooking could be like.If my memory serves me correctly the year and a half program cost me $1500 which included a basic knife kit,uniforms and books.Seeing as english is my mother tongue I did have to pass some french test to make sure that I would be able to follow.All in all I had an excellent experience but like most things in life you only get out of it what you put in.I would definetly recommend the program. Good Luck Jeff
