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2023 Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools
Finding the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate School for You
In 2021-2022, 22,075 people earned a degree or certificate in culinary arts, making the major the #11 most popular in the United States.
There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. This report analyzed 93 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best basic certificate programs for trade school students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools in the United States
Check out the culinary arts basic certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 15% Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools
Our analysis found Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles to be the best school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Pasadena, Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
Full Culinary Arts at Institute of Culinary Education - Los Angeles Report
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The excellent basic certificate programs at Institute of Culinary Education helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. Institute of Culinary Education is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
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The excellent basic certificate programs at Arizona Culinary Institute helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. Located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale, Arizona Culinary Institute is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Boulder is a great place for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the midsize city of Boulder, Escoffier - Boulder is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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The excellent basic certificate programs at Metro Technology Centers helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best culinary arts schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Oklahoma City, Metro Technology Centers is a public school with a small student population.
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El Centro College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the large city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools list. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Madison Area Technical College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Cerritos College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Norwalk, Cerritos College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Clover Park Technical College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Lakewood, CPTC is a public school with a small student population.
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Pickens Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for culinary arts students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of Aurora, Pickens Technical College is a public college with a fairly small student population.
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With a ranking of #12, North Shore Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the suburb of Danvers, North Shore Community College is a public college with a small student population.
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Saint Paul College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate culinary arts programs. Saint Paul College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
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Here are some additional great schools for Culinary Arts students that almost earned our Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin | Austin, TX |
| 15 | Gateway Technical College | Kenosha, WI |
| 16 | Wake Technical Community College | Raleigh, NC |
| 17 | CET, San Jose | San Jose, CA |
| 18 | Emily Griffith Technical College | Denver, CO |
Culinary Arts by Region
View the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Other U.S. Territories |
| Great Lakes |
Rankings in Majors Related to Culinary Arts
One of 4 majors within the trade school area of study, culinary arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Culinary Arts Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Culinary Arts/Chef Training | 10,546 |
| Baking & Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef | 5,029 |
| General Cooking & Related Culinary Arts | 3,303 |
| Restaurant, Culinary, & Catering Management/Manager | 1,394 |
| Food Preparation/Professional Cooking/Kitchen Assistant | 786 |
| Other Culinary Arts & Related Services | 335 |
| Institutional Food Workers | 204 |
| Culinary Science/Culinology | 203 |
| Bartending/Bartender | 157 |
| Food Service, Waiter/Waitress, & Dining Room Management/Manager | 82 |
| Meat Cutting/Meat Cutter | 28 |
| Wine Steward/Sommelier | 8 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Culinary Arts
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Cosmetology | 124,611 |
| Funeral & Mortuary Science | 2,186 |
| Casino Operations and Services | 385 |
| Other Personal & Culinary Services | 95 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Army Europe Images.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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