Culinary Arts

What Will I Study?

The TMCC Culinary Arts curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of the multi-faceted industry we serve. Individual courses will provide you with the skill sets necessary to work in and operate culinary facilities. You will gain the business, people, and culinary skills you need along with the general education required for you to achieve success in a wide range of different food operations.

No matter which of TMCC’s Culinary programs you choose, you will develop your gastronomic skills through a series of learned competencies including but not limited to knife care, cutting techniques, stock preparation, meal planning, menu writing and restaurant experience. You will gain the knowledge needed to work in commercial hot food kitchens, commercial cold food kitchens, and commercial bakery kitchens. Courses our students have the opportunity to take include International Cuisine, Principles of Baking, Buffet Catering, Garde Manger, American Regional Cuisine and so much more!

If you choose the culinary entrepreneurship certificate and/or degree program you will also learn necessary business skills to open your own business and/or work in a management capacity at a food-related small business. You will develop a business plan and understand the fundamentals of being an entrepreneur. Courses that help you with these business skills include Marketing for Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Business Plan Development, Financing Your Small Business Venture among others that will give you the tools you need to make your business a great success.

Since the fall of 2017, there isn't a day that passes I don't rejoice the decision to begin my journey into the culinary arts at TMCC. This program is challenging but supportive, adventurous but disciplined, free but structured; camaraderie is naturally formed with classmates and before you know it, a whole new family has manifested around you. The instructors care more about success than failure and utilize every morsel of their expertise to ensure every student is on the path to reach their goals. Enrolling in the TMCC program is one of the best decisions I've ever made and I strongly recommend it to anyone possessing a love for this art.

Beau M., TMCC Culinary Arts Major

Career Paths

The field of culinary arts offers a broad range of opportunities and settings for your career and culinarians will find plenty of career opportunities in Northern Nevada. Challenging positions are open in restaurants, hotels, assisted living centers, educational institutions, supermarkets, hospitals, ski and lake resorts, corporate cafeterias, casinos and more.

Trained baking and pastry professionals will find plenty of career opportunities in Northern Nevada as well. Challenging positions are open in retail and wholesale bakeries, pastry shops, upscale restaurants, hotels, and casinos, assisted living centers, educational institutions, supermarkets, hospitals, ski and lake resorts, corporate cafeterias and commissaries. There is a real shortage of skilled and knowledgeable bakers and pastry cooks in our area.

Some of the many positions Culinary graduates hold include:

• Bakers
• Baristas
• Bartenders
• Butchers and Meat Cutters
• Chefs and Head Cooks
• Cooks, Fast Food
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
• Cooks, Private Household
• Cooks, Restaurant
• Cooks, Short Order
• Fast Food and Counter Workers
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
• Food Preparation Workers
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
• Food Service Managers
• Waiters and Waitresses

You May Also Be Interested In

• Hospitality and Tourism Management

Program Mission Statement

The TMCC Culinary Arts Program is a learning community for the teaching of food-related subjects that will lead to career advancement of students and growth in their chosen profession. The program, along with its faculty and staff, are committed to providing high-quality instruction based on contemporary curricula that will meet the needs of students, the food service industry and the Northern Nevada community.