Culinary Arts
Culinary Arts - AAS
If you love cooking, have a passion for food and have always dreamed of being a chef, then Bellingham Technical College’s Culinary Arts associate degree program is for you. BTC’s programs and certificates in Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts are ideal for students with cooking skills and an interest in the fast-growing food service industry.
You’ll receive training from an award-winning faculty in state-of-the-art kitchens and get the skills and experience you’ll need to get top jobs in the fast-paced culinary field. Hone your culinary arts skills and gain training in every aspect of food service – from chef to restaurant manager to hostess – at BTC’s Café Culinaire, where students run the International Buffet in winter quarter and a full-service a la carte restaurant in spring.
To expand on your cooking skills, you can also take classes for your pastry arts certificate and get training for the best pastry chef jobs.
The Culinary Arts Program is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the American Culinary Federation Foundation.
Employment Information
97% BTC graduate placement rate1
$37,046 starting annual wage2
$42,683 average annual wage2
$52,852 potential annual wage2
BTC Culinary Arts graduation rates: The graduation rate reflects the percentage of students starting in the Culinary Arts program who receive a Culinary Arts degree within three years.
Certification Information
100% ACF certification rate for students graduating in 2020-21
100% ACF certification rate for students graduating in 2022
BTC ACF certification rates: The ACF certification rate reflects the percentage of students graduating with a Culinary Arts degree who receive ACF certification within one year of program completion.
Estimated Program Costs
Entry Information
When Can I Start?
The program typically starts in Fall Quarter on a space available basis
A cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater and a grade of C- will be the minimum passing grade for all Culinary program courses.
What are the Minimum Entry Requirements?
Admissions application and assessment testing in Reading, Math and Writing is required. Your score on the test and/or your previous transcripts will determine where you begin your course sequence. Contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.
What are My Next Steps?
Classes
Total Program Credits: 103
Quarter 1
CUL 110 Sanitation & Safety 2 CR CUL 112 Introduction to Hospitality 2 CR CUL 114 Culinary Skill Development I 6 CR CUL 118 Commercial Kitchen Equipment 2 CR Quarter 2
AMATH 100 Applied Occupational Math 5 CR Or Higher CUL 122 Culinary Skill Development II 6 CR CUL 126 Pastry Skill Development I 6 CR CUL 142 Nutrition 2 CR Quarter 3
AENGL 100 Applied English 5 CR Or Higher CUL 144 American Regional a' la carte Cookery 7 CR CUL 146 Pastry Skill Development II 7 CR Quarter 4
CUL 150 Field-Based Experience 6 CR Quarter 5
CMST& 210 Interpersonal Communications 5 CR OR PSYC& 100 General Psychology 5 CR OR SOC& 101 Introduction to Sociology 5 CR CUL 211 Meat Identification and Fabrication 4 CR CUL 218 Garde Manger 6 CR CUL 222 Supervisor Development 3 CR Quarter 6
CUL 220 Restaurant Management 5 CR CUL 224 Food and Beverage Service 3 CR CUL 226 International Cuisine 6 CR CUL 228 Banquet and Catering Management 3 CR Quarter 7
CUL 230 Northwest a' la carte Cookery 8 CR CUL 232 Food and Beverage Service Lab 2 CR CUL 236 Wine Appreciation 2 CR
Online Asynchronous
Online Synchronous
Hybrid Asynchronous
Hybrid Synchronous
Self-SupportProgram Outcomes
After successfully completing this program, students will be able to:
- Conform and comply with health standards based on US Food and Drug Administration, Washington State, and local health department sanitation and hygiene codes and laws.
- Apply fundamentals and advanced skills in sustainable design and purchasing, butchery, Garde Manger, classical sauce, soups and stocks, food and beverage service, farinaceous foods, classical cookery techniques in international cuisine, American regional cuisines, and define product specifications.
- Plan, prepare, and cook foods ala carte and buffet style consistently in a visually appealing manner while maintaining taste, nutritive value, flavor, and texture in classical and contemporary cooking methods.
- Correctly prepare a variety of classical breads, artisan breads, classical pastry items, and desserts with the ability to correctly evaluate finished products for proper texture, color, palatability, shape, and doneness.
- Plan, develop and analyze the dining room layout, facility design, menu design, cost analysis, marketing plan, and projected profit and loss statements.
- Describe the fundamental nutrients in the human diet, identify a variety of contemporary dietary needs and demonstrate the ability to create and cook modified menus to meet those needs.
Employment Outlook
After taking BTC’s culinary arts courses, you can graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree in culinary arts and let your career take you wherever you want to go: restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops, hotels, schools and universities, hospitals, and catering companies. Graduates of BTC’s Culinary Arts programs are trained for jobs as: sous chefs; line, pantry and prep cooks; bakers; deli workers; food managers; and caterers. Employment opportunities for those with culinary arts degrees are expected to be plentiful as new restaurants and bars open, creating new positions; outgoing employees also will need to be replaced.
About 76% of BTC Culinary Arts program students are employed within nine months of graduation. The average annual wage in culinary field is $52,416, with an earning potential of about $63,419 per year.*
Faculty & Support
Brian McDonald
Brian has cooked professionally for over 35 years holding positions as a corporate restaurant chef, garde manger chef, banquet chef, catering chef, private chef, and butcher. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, graduating number one in his class, being awarded the Francis Roth Most Outstanding Student award. He has worked at many fine restaurants and hotels including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Amelia Island (Florida), Rick Bayless’ Frontera Grill, David Burke’s Park Avenue Café (Chicago), and locally at Thirteen Coins and The Herb Farm Restaurant. He taught culinary arts for eight years in Asheville, North Carolina before joining Bellingham Technical College in 2003.
Nicole Carter
Nicole has cooked professionally for 20 years. She has always loved the restaurant industry and has explored many facets including restaurant management, catering and banquet chef, corporate training and opening of properties, butchering, front of the house, bartending and beverage service, brewing, coffee service and private chef. She graduated from the Culinary Arts program at South Seattle Community College in 2003. She ran a catering company and managed a restaurant before changing gears to teaching at Bellingham Technical College. In her last 11 years at BTC, Nicole has advanced in positions starting as a temporary instructional technician then moving into teaching as a part-time adjunct instructor. She is now a full-time instructor and is also responsible for purchasing in the Culinary & Pastry Arts programs.