Culinary arts

Turn your passion for food into a career. Get the culinary training you need at Stark State College. You’ll learn Michelin Star kitchen skills for the real world – at the lowest tuition in the area.

Request info ->

Program at a glance

DEGREE TYPE

Associate of Applied Business

PROGRAM FORMAT

In person

LENGTH (FULL TIME)

4 semesters

CAREER COMMUNITY

Culinary

*Please note: Many Stark State classes have online and in-person options.

Home / Academics / Culinary / Culinary arts

Program overview

Dream of becoming a chef or entering the culinary field as a caterer or food consultant?

Stark State’s high-quality, affordable culinary arts program teaches a perfect blend of technique and creativity.

American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission

Feed your passion. Build your career.

A culinary arts degree, along with determination and hard work, can make you a competitive job candidate as you start your career.

Program details

Learn Michelin Star restaurant-quality kitchen skills that you can use in the real world. Our coursework also incorporates management and administrative skills like food safety, cost control and staff management. You will learn on professional-grade equipment and modern tools in our state-of-the-art kitchen.

Courses and course sequence
Program learning outcomes

Careers and outcomes

There’s a bounty of jobs in today’s restaurant industry. One of the largest private-sector employers, the industry employs more than 14 million people in both front-of-the-house and kitchen positions.

Prepare for a meaningful career as a caterer, executive chef, personal chef, restaurant manager, sous chef and more. Our graduates can find work in many areas, including restaurants, institutional or school kitchens, hotels and resorts, and test kitchens.

Culinary arts program outcomes

  • Graduation rate is the percentage of students who complete the program within 150% of the program length measured in credits. Example of graduation rate formula: The Associate of Science in Culinary Arts is a 72-credit program. To graduate, the program must be completed within 150% of the program length as measured in credits. Full-time students are expected to complete the program in 24 months. To accommodate transfer students, and students on half-time or part-time schedules, the program measures the maximum timeframe for completion in credits attempted to credits earned, a ratio which cannot exceed 150%.
  • Job placement rate is the percentage of students that are employed in their field of study within nine months of graduation.
  • ACF certification rate is the percentage of students who receive ACF Certification within 1 year of program completion.
YearGraduation Rate (%)Job placement rate (%)ACF certification rate (%)
202043%89%75%
201937%81%25%
201825%72%5%
201717%66%0%
Apply now

In the kitchen

In our state-of-the art, professional-grade kitchen, you learn by observing then doing. Our executive chefs guide you as you learn how to express your creativity through food.

female culinary students slicing pork meat
hands from culinary student pouring cream into measure glass
two culinary students preparing a dish
female culinary student organizing knives
Culinary arts, hands preparing dish
Culinary arts, hands cutting flatbread pizza
Culinary arts instructor working with female student to prepare a dish
male culinary student scooping sauce into a dish
Female culinary student stirring pot while instructor oversees
Culinary arts student and instructor looking through cookbook
Culinary arts, male at stove, flames on pan

FAQs

In addition to tuition, there are several additional items you will need to purchase for the program, including uniforms and tools. You can purchase most of these items at Stark State’s College Store.

Required items for culinary-related classes

Uniform

  • White chef coat
  • Houndstooth chef pants
  • Black chef’s hat
  • Black apron
  • Black non-slip shoes (closed toe and heel, plain professional) – not available at the College Store

Tools

  • Chef/French knife*
  • Boning knife*
  • Paring knife*
  • Thermometer*
  • Serrated/bread knife*
  • Case (to safely carry tools)*
  • Permanent marker

*Sold as a kit at the College Store

With a culinary arts degree, you can prepare for a meaningful career as a:

  • Caterer
  • Cafeteria manager
  • Cooking assistant
  • Executive chef
  • Food consultant
  • Food critic
  • Food photographer
  • Food researcher
  • Food scientist
  • Line cook
  • Pastry chef
  • Personal chef
  • Pizza cook
  • Restaurant manager
  • Short order cook
  • Sommelier
  • Sous chef

Once you complete your program, you’ll learn an associate of applied business in business management – culinary arts.

Stark State’s culinary arts program is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation, 180 Center Place Way, St. Augustine, FL 32095; 800-624-9458; www.acfchefs.org.

Whether you’re ready to enter or re-enter the business field, these programs will help prepare you for the next step.

Lowest tuition around

Put your money toward your goals – not debt.

Stark State’s tuition costs up to 83% less than other area colleges and universities. Along with financial aid and scholarship opportunities, you gain the most value for your education without sacrificing quality.

keyboard_double_arrow_down

Scroll to section

Leland Flanders, CEC
Instructor of Culinary Arts

phone

330-494-6170 ext. 5755

mail

lflanders@starkstate.edu

Take the next step

Whether you’re just starting out, making your college comeback or looking for a change, you belong at Stark State.

Request info →
Visit →
Apply →