What are my career opportunities?

Fine Dining Skills With a Business Emphasis

Through a combination of classroom instruction and work-based experience, Culinary Arts students are fully prepared to enter the growing market for skilled food service professionals. A distinctive feature of the program is its classical training with an emphasis on contemporary regional, seasonal and ethnic cuisine. The overall focus, however, is business-based. Edmonds College's Culinary Arts students receive a solid foundation in the skills necessary to make a business profitable, in addition to the culinary skills needed for the food service industry.

Work-based Learning

Work-based learning takes place in Edmonds College's state-of-the-art kitchen and fine dining room. Students work as cooks, servers and managers in the campus fine dining room, College Café. The Culinary Arts students gain on-the-job experience in menu planning, cost analysis, purchasing, supplier selection and receiving and storage. Group interaction and communication skills are addressed in personnel management classes designed to train students as successful supervisors.

The program keeps current with the trends and needs of the industry through its advisory board of local food service executives.

Program graduates will be prepared to succeed as prep cooks, cooks, kitchen managers, servers, caterers, sous chefs, garde managers, owners, chefs and entrepreneurs and hosts in the food service industry. Other employment goals include management training positions in fine dining, fast food or institutional food service or establishing owner-operated catering businesses.

The employment future in culinary arts is a good one. Skilled professionals are needed at all levels and our graduates are successful in entering the hospitality industry.