Online Education in Culinary Arts

By Jennifer Croley
CookingSchools.com Contributing Writer

If learning to cook online doesn't seem ideal to you, you're right. The consensus among culinary arts educators is that it is not practical to provide professional-level courses online, and that's why students can't earn a complete culinary arts degree online. However, students with prior culinary lab experience (usually through an associate's degree) can now complete their bachelor's online.

For those simply wanting to perk up their baking skills or master that elusive gourmet pastry, there are some programs that provide cooking instruction online, but they are aimed primarily at home cooks, not professional chefs.

How Online Culinary Arts Programs Work

Culinary arts management is about the business and logistics of food. Business topics relevant to restaurant management and the hospitality industry are integral parts of a culinary arts management program and are easily adaptable to online education.

As with traditional programs, online students have deadlines, but programs don't revolve around set class times. This offers students more flexibility on accessing lectures and working on assignments. The Art Institute Online and Virginia College Online both offer bachelor's completion programs in culinary arts management. Students in these programs utilize the internet to access lectures, submit assignments, receive feedback, and discuss questions. Students at The Art Institute Online work primarily in a central online discussion area while Virginia College Online students utilize a WebCT platform. Students and instructors may also communicate with each other via e-mail or over the phone.

In general, all students need is a computer and reliable internet connection, although some courses utilize additional software.

Available Online Culinary Arts Programs

Online cooking schools are divided into two types: schools offering degree, diploma, or certificate programs, and schools offering casual cooking instruction.

Students seeking an online degree are limited to degree-completion programs primarily because providing a full degree online is not practical. Programs are also limited because earning a bachelor's degree in culinary arts is a fairly new phenomenon. Even the world famous Le Cordon Bleu Institute does not offer a degree program.

Chef Odette Smith, an instructor for The Art Institute Online, notes that "until recently, the only degree programs widely available to chefs were associate's programs. Now that bachelor's programs are becoming more available, the educational standard is being raised."

Schools That May Offer Culinary Arts Degrees, Diplomas or Certificates Online:

A Selection of Online Cooking Classes:

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