Culinary Arts

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Overview

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 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 front-of-the-house service – at BTC’s Café Culinaire, where students run the International Buffet in winter quarter and a full-service a la carte restaurant in spring.

Program Outcomes

After successfully completing the AAS degree, 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, farinaceous foods, classical cookery techniques in international cuisine, American regional cuisines, define product specifications, and food and beverage service.
• Plan, prepare, and cook foods a la 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.

After successfully completing the Culinary Arts certificate, 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 sills in sustainable design and purchasing, butchery, classical cookery techniques in American regional cuisines, and define product specifications.
• 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.

Placement Requirements

Admissions application and assessment in Reading, Math, and Writing is required. Your placement will determine where you begin your course sequence. Contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.

ACCUPLACER NextGen Arithmetic (230) or higher OR ABE 050 with a C or higher.

ACCUPLACER NextGen Reading (247) or higher OR RDG 085 with a C or higher.

ACCUPLACER NextGen Writing (245) or higher OR ENGL 092 with a C or higher.

Degree and Certificate Requirements

Culinary Arts Degree and Certificate completion requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater and minimum grade of C-/1.7 in culinary courses and a minimum grade of C/2.0 in all General Education courses.

Programs

• Culinary Arts, AAS

• Culinary Arts Certificate

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