Culinary Arts
Culinary Training for Foodservice Professionals
If a career in foodservice is your passion, it’s time for you to step into our professional kitchens!
Our program is designed to educate and develop future leaders for the culinary profession with a curriculum that blends a combination of practical cooking experiences, foodservice knowledge, and business application.
In addition to gaining culinary skills, you will learn how to create menu items that are nutritious, marketable, and profitable; understand the balance between culinary creativity and business operation realities; comprehend the responsibilities of safe food production and service; and become acquainted with the various career pathways within the profession.
A program conference is required prior to acceptance to the program. You'll learn more about the program, specific admissions requirements and have the opportunity to have questions answered by program faculty and staff.
Graduates of the Culinary Arts program will be able to:
- Employ proficiency pertaining to the care and use of an industry-standard range of professional knives.
- Operate and safely control commercial food service equipment significant to the hospitality industry.
- Utilize classical cooking methods to design, produce, plate, and critically analyze the quality of dishes for diverse foodservice outlets and meal periods that include short order and banquet production.
- Demonstrate fabrication and preparation proficiency related to a variety of seafood, meat, poultry, and game proteins.
- Distinguish between, and successfully utilize, a wide array of international food preparation techniques and ingredients.
- Compare and assess both nutritional and food cost value related to menu design and the purchase of products for the foodservice industry.
- Employ appropriate sanitation and safety measures in order to minimize the risks associated with foodborne illness.
- Calculate and interpret fundamental food service cost bases including food and beverage percentages and costs associated with inventory management.
Kirkwood offers more than $3 million in scholarships for students each year, and there are many specifically for students enrolled in Culinary Arts and other hospitality programs.
Students in Kirkwood's hospitality programs planning to transfer to Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are eligible to apply for the Leonard and Evelyn Dolezal Scholarship Program. This scholarship is awarded to incoming freshmen from Linn, Clayton, Fayette and Johnson counties, and transfer students, particularly those from Kirkwood. If a student is not from one of the specified counties, they will become eligible as a Kirkwood transfer student.
Hands-On Learning
In addition to hands-on learning in Kirkwood's state-of-the-art culinary labs, students are immersed in the business operations of Kirkwood's Four Diamond Hotel, including food and beverage operations at The Class Act restaurant.
Culinary students experience a local, regional, or national internship at reputable food service establishments. Students also have the opportunity to travel abroad and immerse themselves in international food and culture through Kirkwood's various study abroad partnerships.
Prior to graduation, Kirkwood culinary students host a Culinary Showcase, where they design, prepare, and execute a multi-course culinary presentation and dining experience for more than 100 members of the community.
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Professional Facilities: Culinary Lab
Our culinary labs are equipped with industrial kitchenware and cooking equipment, providing a professional kitchen environment.
Professional Facilities: Bakery Lab
While spending time in our Bakery Lab, you'll gain skills and experience in ingredient identification, equipment operation and maintenance, recipe writing and standardization, and fundamental baking methods.
Professional Facilities: Bakery Lab
You will learn the theories and techniques required to make a variety of professional caliber products in our commercially-equipped Bakery Lab.
Professional Facilities: Executive Technology Amphitheater
When you're a Kirkwood culinary student, you will acquire and then hone your culinary skills in a purpose-built facility designed to maximize and enhance student learning.
Professional Instructors
Our instructors are industry-experienced culinary professionals that have a passion for teaching, developing, coaching, and mentoring.
Professional Instructors
Instructors share their culinary industry experiences that span national and international restaurants, full-service hotels, banquet and catering operations, casinos, and private business ownership.
What to expect as a student: Term 1
Hands-on culinary lab experiences during the first term take students on a learning journey through courses Kitchen Essentials, Culinary Techniques, and Food Fundamentals. At the conclusion of these culinary lab courses, students will be able to prepare assigned food items utilizing standardized recipes, demonstrate accurate measurement techniques, perform workplace math calculations while scaling and adjusting recipes and ingredients, and demonstrate knowledge of fundamental cookery methods.
What to expect as a student: Term 2
Practical lab courses experienced during the second semester cover industry-essential content across the following courses: International Cuisine, Stocks and Sauces, Fabrication, Garde Manager, and Bakery Basics.
Term 2: Cross Training
Beverage Fundamentals introduces students to the essentials of food and beverage pairing, including identification of beverage characteristics and flavor profiling.
What to expect as a student: Term 3
Courses you will take during the third term include: Advanced Garde Manager, Applied Culinary Skills, and Menu Planning. Advanced Garde Manager features production of charcuterie and advanced work with sugar centerpieces.
Advanced courses in Term 3
The culinary learning experience becomes elevated with practical content that expands upon skills acquired during earlier lab courses.
Term 3: Cross Training
Students also experience front-of-house cross training in restaurant and banquet service within The Hotel at Kirkwood and in The Class Act Restaurant during the highly practical Service Techniques course.
What to expect as a student: Term 4
It is time to add finishing touches to what has become a comprehensive repertoire of culinary skills for each student.
Term 4 Culinary Showcase
Prior to graduation, Kirkwood students host a Culinary Showcase, where they design, prepare, and execute a multi-course culinary presentation and dining experience for more than 100 members of the community in the Executive Technology Amphitheater.
Explore More
The career possibilities for a culinary arts graduate are as varied as the ingredients in the kitchen. Here are some of the career paths you can take:
- Executive chef
- Banquet chef
- Restaurant chef
- Chef de Cuisine
- Sous chef
- Private chef
- Business ownership
- Catering manager
- Line cook
- Baker
Students in this program earn the National Restaurant Association's Food Protection Manager's ServSafe Certificate. ServSafe is the national, industry-based food safety certification for food service managers.
Because this program is fully accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission, graduates are provided with an opportunity for nationally-recognized certification upon completion of the program.
Students in Kirkwood's Culinary Arts program, as well as those pursuing the Food Service Assistant Diploma, are encouraged to join the Kirkwood chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), the only national Career and Technical Student Organization with the family as its central focus.
FCCLA is one of eight recognized members of the National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations (NCC-CTSO). CTSOs are co-curricular groups that help students in career and technical education programs further their knowledge and skills by participating in activities, events, and competitions.
Students receive hands-on training and gain practical experience in management, food preparation, and food and beverage service. Coursework includes Kitchen Essentials, Culinary Techniques, Food Fundamentals, International Cuisine, Bakery Basics, Applied Culinary Skills, and Menu Planning.
In addition to hands-on learning in the kitchen labs, a separate industry internship allows students to apply their program learning within various other segments of the culinary arts industry. Kirkwood students have completed internships locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Educate and develop future leaders for the culinary profession.
Program Costs
Culinary Arts A.A.S.
School Year: 2024–25
Program Entry Semester: Fall
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Hours per Semester | 18 | 17.5 | 13.5 | 18 | 67 |
| In-State Tuition | $3,906 | $3,797.50 | $2,929.50 | $3,906 | $14,539 |
| Technology Fee per Semester | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $200 |
| Clinical Expenses (mileage, lodging, screenings, etc.) | $30 | $67.50 | $39 | $20.25 | $156.75 |
| Conferences/Seminars | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Course Resources (textbooks, software, etc.) | $635 | $565 | $309 | $394 | $1,903 |
| Course/Section Fees | $390 | $922.50 | $336 | $200.25 | $1,848.75 |
| Laptop (required devices) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Testing Fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Third Party Credentials | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Tool Sets | $342 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $342 |
| Uniforms | $281.35 | $0 | $221.50 | $0 | $502.85 |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Estimated Cost | $5,604.35 | $5,335 | $3,846 | $4,550.25 | $19,335.60 |
Costs provided are estimated and based on the following current tuition rates: $217 (In-State), $290 (Out-of-State), $400 (International).
Fees and costs are subject to change. To view all costs associated with attending college visit our Tuition and Costs page.
Program Requirements
In order to begin classes in the Culinary Arts program, you must complete the following, in addition to Kirkwood’s steps to become a student:
Accreditation & Awards
This program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation as an “Exemplary” program, which symbolizes the highest educational standards recognized by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission (ACFEFAC), and was Awarded one of the 50 Best Programs by Best Choice Schools to offer quality programs which can help students be successful in the field of culinary arts.
“I think some people have a negative connotation about community college, but I feel like I got a lot more out of my experience at Kirkwood than I would have at a four-year institution.”
Julia Crouse,
Culinary Arts Graduate
Read Julia's story on the Kirkwood Online Newsroom.
Questions?
Hospitality Arts
The Hotel at Kirkwood Center
319-848-8770
hospitalityarts@kirkwood.edu