Cert in Culinary Skills is a certificate in Culinary Arts programme taught at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 8,082 per semester (CAD 1,389 per semester for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Culinary Arts
Duration: 1 year
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 1,389 / semester
International tuition: CAD 8,082 / semester
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Overview Sharpen your skills in world-class culinary labs. This one-year Culinary Skills Ontario College Certificate program teaches you the cutting-edge skills you need to succeed in the high-growth culinary industry. Learn essential food preparation skills and techniques from industry professionals in Algonquin College's world-class culinary labs. Topics include nutrition and food theory, food cost control, menu planning and sanitation and safety procedures. The hands-on experience and knowledge you gain opens many doors for you and helps to shape your career as a professional cook. Some classes are held in the evening and on the weekend in Restaurant International, Algonquin College's on-campus fine-dining restaurant, to give you a taste of your career before graduation. Expand your real-world experience and make industry connections with an 80-hour field placement. With opportunities to participate in community events, culinary competitions and activities, you have many opportunities to refine your skills and gain further experience. The skills you gain may open doors to your culinary career as cooks or assistant cooks in: restaurants hotels resorts clubs cruise ships catering companies With additional training, you may advance into positions such as: commis de cuisine junior/executive sous-chef, and executive chef de cuisine
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission needs an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or mature-student status (19 or older without a diploma), subject to Algonquin's own assessment. Program eligibility on this page adds Grade 12 English (ENG4C or equivalent), with no additional subject named. English: IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with no band under 5.5; TOEFL iBT 80 overall with 20 in each of reading, listening, speaking and writing for tests sat before 21 January 2026, or 4 overall with 4 in every component for tests sat after that date; or a Duolingo English Test score of 110 overall with 110 in Literacy and nothing under 95. If applications exceed the seats available, Algonquin selects on proficiency in English rather than a fixed cutoff.
Application Details
Start Date:Intake terms Algonquin lists for this program, read from its own availability table on 6 September 2026: Fall 2026 (AC Day 1 orientation 8 September 2026; Fall term classes start 9 September 2026); Winter 2027 (most classes start 11 January 2027); Spring 2027 (most classes start 10 May 2027). Term start dates come from the Registrar's Important Dates page, which also gives 11 January 2027 for the Winter 2027 term and 10 May 2027 for the Spring 2027 term. Availability changes as seats fill and an intake already under way may be closed, so check the program page before applying. Algonquin's academic year runs September to August.
Application Deadline:DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). Algonquin publishes no deadline unique to this program; the dates below are the college-wide Ontario colleges cycle and apply to every full-time day program. Applications go through ontariocolleges.ca, where 1 February is the equal consideration date each cycle: apply by then and your application is assessed alongside every other one received by that date, while applications arriving later are handled first-come, first-served for as long as places remain. For entry in Fall 2027 the ontariocolleges.ca application opened on 26 September 2026, colleges may begin issuing offers on 1 November 2026, the equal consideration date is 1 February 2027 and an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027. The equal consideration date that governed the Fall 2026, Winter 2027 and Spring 2027 intakes was 1 February 2026 and has already passed, so those three starts are now first-come, first-served while seats last.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Apply directly to Algonquin on the International Application Form in its International Application Portal (AC360) rather than through ontariocolleges.ca, with a CAD 135 application fee. There is no single fixed international deadline: Algonquin asks you to confirm the program is open before applying, warns that a program's status can change to waitlisted or closed before an admissions officer reviews the file, and publishes a closing-date sheet for each intake. For the Fall 2026 intake that sheet gives this program's own dates: 16 September 2026 is the last day to apply on the International Application Portal and receive an acceptance, and 21 September 2026 is the last day to register.
