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Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region

16 Colleges

Finding the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate School for You

Culinary Arts is the #11 most popular major in the country with 22,075 degrees and certificates awarded in 2021-2022.

It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 16 schools in the Southwest Region 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 Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for culinary arts majors pursuing a basic certificate.

Top 10 Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Schools

#1

Arizona Culinary Institute

Scottsdale, AZ

Our analysis found Arizona Culinary Institute to be the best school for culinary arts students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Southwest Region . Located in the city of Scottsdale, Arizona Culinary Institute is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Arizona Culinary Institute

#2

Metro Technology Centers

Oklahoma City, OK

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Metro Technology Centers. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Oklahoma City, Metro Technology Centers is a public school with a small student population.

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#3

El Centro College

Dallas, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend El Centro College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Dallas, El Centro College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Culinary Arts at El Centro College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts - Austin. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Austin, Escoffier - Austin is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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#5

Lee College

Baytown, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lee College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Baytown, Lee College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at Lee College

#6

Francis Tuttle Technology Center

Oklahoma City, OK

With a ranking of #6, Francis Tuttle Technology Center did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the city of Oklahoma City, Francis Tuttle Technology Center is a public college with a small student population.

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#7

St Philip's College

San Antonio, TX

St Philip’s College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Culinary Arts Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of San Antonio, St Philip's College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Culinary Arts at St Philip’s College

#8

South Plains College

Levelland, TX

With a ranking of #8, South Plains College did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Culinary Arts at South Plains College Report

With a ranking of #9, Tarrant County College District did quite well on this year’s best schools for culinary arts students working on their basic certificate. Tarrant County College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fort Worth.

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#10

Grayson College

Denison, TX

Grayson College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best basic certificate culinary arts programs. Located in the rural area of Denison, Grayson College is a public school with a small student population.

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Best Culinary Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best culinary arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 376
Texas 1,430
Oklahoma 332
New Mexico 109

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

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 16 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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