Culinary Arts

Overview

Pursue your passion for culinary arts by enrolling in Kapi‘olani Community College’s culinary arts and patisserie programs. This American Culinary Federation-accredited program continues its strong tradition and leadership in providing Hawai‘i and the world with skilled culinarians knowledgeable in Asian and Western cuisines, and state-of-the-art pastry arts. Students prepare to enter the industry, by facing real-world situations, and being challenged to become critical thinkers.

KCC excels in internationalizing its food service program, blending the techniques, traditions, and influences of Asia and the Pacific with the classical styles of Europe. Numerous successful Hawai‘i chefs trained at KCC. You may choose to earn their Associate in Science degrees in Culinary Arts and Patisserie, Certificate of Achievement in Culinary Arts, and Certificates of Completion in Culinary Arts and Patisserie. An American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship program offers a viable alternative to the AS degrees and credit certificates. Apprentices enroll in the "earn-as-you-learn" three year program to learn marketable culinary skills.

In addition to being awarded over $20,000.00 annually in scholarships specifically geared toward the program’s majors, program majors are eligible for federal financial aid. KCC offers food service students a world-class learning environment that includes 10 modern kitchens, a 130-seat culinary demonstration auditorium, on-campus restaurants, banquet rooms, computer labs, as well as showers and lockers for students

Our international faculty include award-winning chefs, food and beverage experts, and a counselor; many of whom are graduates of the culinary program at KCC, and other renowned institutions such as the Culinary Institute of American, Cordon Bleu, Johnson and Wales, and the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

Testimonials

“The Culinary Arts Program at Kapiolani Community College (KCC) was an outstanding experience for me and I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend this college. KCC has opened doors and exposed me to many valuable opportunities that I will always have with me. My education has been enhanced by wonderful instructors and by a supportive staff and by all the professional chefs that have crossed my path that have shared with me information about our industry that you can’t learn from a book.

The student is empowered to succeed and is given the necessary tools to do so. I enjoyed the journey of the stories, the intensity, the hard work, the people, the fun, but most of all the incredible sense of accomplishment that I felt when I finished, The feeling of WOW I can do it and I did do it.”

– Kelly Washino

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my culinary education at Kapiolani Community College. The chef instructors are extremely knowledgeable and can provide real life examples and scenarios to complement the lessons taught in the class room. I have forged many life-long friendships with many of my classmates. I have been privilege to have assisted many chefs and professionals in the industry, Hiroshi Fukui, Roy Yamaguchi, and Alan Wong, while still learning as a student. The lessons I learned; hard work, having a "can-do" attitude, self-discipline and perseverance, are all lessons I can apply to beyond the kitchen. Compared to the cost of tuition, my culinary education was priceless.”

– Robin W. Lee