Indiana cuisine: more Hoosiers are signing up for chef school.

NEXT TIME SOME SNOOTY out-of-stater claims Indiana lacks sophistication, here's a good comeback: An increasing number of Hoosiers are lining up at the community college to learn how to make pate.

No kidding. The popularity of the Food Network along with healthy growth in the hospitality industry are filling up culinary arts classes in Indiana. Ivy Tech Community College reports a growing appetite for its culinary arts and pastry programs, and Indiana Business College is finding no shortage of enrollees for its newest program, The Chef's Academy

Jeff Bricker, who chairs the hospitality administration program at Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana, recognizes the influence of such Food Network celebs as Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. In the network's 13 years, "it's done quite a job of raising awareness of chefs and cooking," he says. But it's also a matter of demand. The U.S. Department of Labor projects 16 percent growth in chef positions in Indiana by 2015, he says, and the National Restaurant Association expects Indiana will add 41,000 hospitality jobs in the same time frame. "As the hospitality industry grows, it's producing more job opportunities."

Ivy Tech's hospitality offerings include associate's degrees in culinary arts as well as baking and pastry arts. About half of the 500 students in the central Indiana program are studying culinary arts, a quarter learning about pastries, the rest pursuing such fields as restaurant, hotel and event management. Enrollment has doubled in the past four years.

Interest is high as well at Indiana Business College, where The Chef's Academy enrolled 68 students in its first cohort in September and expected to boost enrollment past 100 when its second cohort began studying at the end of November. Chef Tony Hanslits, the director of culinary education, says restaurants prefer trained culinarians not only because they're good cooks but because they are efficient, often doing the work of one-and-a-half to two people. "It helps your payroll," he points out.

He's not Emeril, but Hanslits could be considered a local celebrity chef, often quoted in the media and known for creating innovative menus at several fine-dining venues.

The salaries earned by trained chefs vary widely, says Jason Boyers, program director at The Chef's Academy He cites statistics indicating Indiana chefs' earnings range from $25,000 to more than $100,000. "They're not going to walk out of here and make $50,000 a year," he says, but as they work their way up, they can do quite well.