Culinary Arts

This program is designed for the person who wants a career as a professional chef, eventually moving into kitchen management. In the first year, you’ll learn all the fundamentals including cooking and presentation techniques. The second year will give you the advanced culinary and management skills required of the professional chef and kitchen manager. These include inventory and food costs, purchasing, and planning menus.

Today’s television shows have made stars of chefs and encouraged many people to enter this fast-paced and exciting field. What you don’t see is the hard work and long hours that go into a professional kitchen. This program is based on the real thing. Be prepared to work hard, spend lots of time in the kitchen, and have a lot of fun.

• Our instructors have a long tradition of success in culinary competitions in this region. You'll be learning from the best. We also keep our courses relevant and modern. We stay in close touch with industry so we know what employers want. That's what we share with you.


• Between your first and second year there is a five-month co-op placement. This is a paid work term that prepares you for the advanced studies of your second year, while also counting towards your apprenticeship program.


• This program is a first step on the path towards Journeyperson Certification in the Cook trade. Graduates of this program will be eligible for transfer credit upon registration in the Provincial Apprenticeship Program.

• Opportunities are countless for graduates of this program. As the tourism industry continues to grow in this province and around the world, demand for well-trained cooks grows with it.


• Graduates find entry-level positions in hotels, restaurants, private clubs, cruise ships and resorts.


• You may also find a position with a catering company - you could even start your own! Students who have skills and ambition can look forward to advancing beyond the entry level into positions such as station chef or sous chef.

• High School Graduation Diploma or equivalent.

• The Culinary Arts program includes a mandatory cooperative education credit course. Co-op provides an opportunity for paid employment between the first and second year of your program. Employers, as co-educators, provide learning opportunities beyond the bounds of the classroom giving you a well-rounded education enriched by practical application.

• A strong work ethic and a professional approach are key elements to your success in this program and career.


• Punctuality and attention to cleanliness are absolute necessities.


• Red Seal – Cooking is a designated trade that qualifies for the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program. The Red Seal allows qualified tradespersons to practice the trade in any province or territory in Canada where the trade is designated without having to write further examinations.


• The goal of your five-month cooperative placement is to have you work under a qualified Journeyperson so your placement will provide credit toward the journeyperson requirements of Nova Scotia's Apprenticeship Training Division.


• If you’ve completed NSCC's Cooking Certificate program, you are eligible to apply for direct admission to the second-year of this program.


• As this program mirrors a working kitchen, you should be prepared to work industry-type hours including early mornings, late nights and some weekends.


• Additional costs include basic and advanced food safety certificates, safety shoes, uniforms, textbooks and knife kit.


• There is a fee associated with the program’s cooperative education component.