Vaccine Clinic Appointments—IMPORTANT! BTC is not responsible for scheduling any vaccine appointments. All inquiries and appointments must be made through the Whatcom County Health department. Below are the contacts to make appointments:
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.
Awards for 2017-18: Congratulations to BTC's Culinary Arts students who competed in the American Culinary Federation Washington State Chefs Culinary Salon. BTC had the highest scores of all student competitors and took home gold, silver and bronze medals for their work.
76% BTC graduate placement rate
72% job placement rate in 2017-18 (for students graduating in 2016-17)
69% job placement rate in 2016-17 (for students graduating in 2015-16)
84% job placement rate in 2015-16 (for students graduating in 2014-15)
$42,286 starting annual wage
$52,416 average annual wage
$63,419 potential annual wage
21% graduation rate in 2018-19 (for students starting in 2015-16)
31% graduation rate in 2017-18 (for students starting in 2014-15)
37% graduation rate in 2016-17 (for students starting in 2013-14)
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.
25% ACF certification rate for students graduating in 2018-19
10% ACF certification rate for students graduating in 2017-18
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.
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.
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.
CUL 110 | Sanitation & Safety | 3 CR |
CUL 112 | Introduction to Hospitality | 2 CR |
CUL 114 | Culinary Skill Development I | 6 CR |
CUL 116 | Meat Identification and Fabrication | 4 CR |
CUL 118 | Commercial Kitchen Equipment | 2 CR |
CUL 121 | Pastry Basic I | 3 CR |
CUL 122 | Culinary Skill Development II | 6 CR |
CUL 125 | Pastry Basics II | 3 CR |
AMATH 100 | Applied Occupational Math | 5 CR |
OR Higher |
CUL 141 | Introduction to Artisan Breads & Laminated Dough | 3 CR |
CUL 144 | American Regional a' la carte Cookery | 6 CR |
CUL 145 | Intro to Cakes, Desserts, Chocolate & Sugar Decorations | 4 CR |
AENGL 100 | Applied English | 5 CR |
OR Higher |
CUL 150 | Field-Based Experience | 6 CR |
OR |
CUL 152 | Culinary Competition Fundamentals | 6 CR |
CUL 142 | Nutrition | 3 CR |
CUL 218 | Garde Manger | 6 CR |
CUL 222 | Supervisor Development | 3 CR |
CMST& 210 | Interpersonal Communications | 5 CR |
OR |
PSYC& 100 | General Psychology | 5 CR |
OR |
SOC& 101 | Introduction to Sociology | 5 CR |
CUL 220 | Restaurant Management | 5 CR |
CUL 224 | Food and Beverage Service | 2 CR |
CUL 226 | International Cuisine | 6 CR |
CUL 228 | Banquet and Catering Management | 3 CR |
CUL 230 | Northwest a' la carte Cookery | 8 CR |
CUL 232 | Food and Beverage Service Lab | 2 CR |
CUL 236 | Wine Appreciation | 2 CR |
After successfully completing this program, students will be able to:
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.*
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.
Hilde Hettegger - Korsmo has been a Pastry Arts Instructor at Bellingham Technical College since 2005. She has over two decades of hands on experience in Culinary Arts/Pastry Arts/Restaurant Management and is currently certified under the American Culinary Federation as a Certified Culinarian Educator and Certified Working Pastry Chef. Over the past 20 years, Hilde has held culinary and pastry positions in Austria, Italy and the United States. In 2012, she won a bronze medal in her quest for the National Pastry Chef title and in 2011, she was awarded the Pastry Chef of the Year by the Washington State Chefs association. During the 2011-2012 year, she received the BTC Faculty Haskell Excellence Award; this allowed her to train at the Notter School of Pastry Arts, in Florida, thus enhancing her sugar arts techniques.
Maria is a 30+ - year veteran of the West Coast food and wine industry. After graduating from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in NY she settled in the heart of California Wine Country, Sonoma County, where she worked as a Chef, Sommelier, Culinary Educator and as the owner of a successful food truck business specializing in artisan frozen desserts. Wishing to return to academia Maria joined Bellingham Technical College in August, 2018. Chef deCorpo enjoys helping others reach their goals of working in the foodservice industry. In her free time, Maria loves to garden, build and restore furniture, sew and, believe it or not, cook! She is an avid reader and cinephile and loves to explore the connections between art, culture, history and food.