Trades - Apprenticeship in Institutional Cook

Fanshawe College's Institutional Cook programme is an apprenticeship leading to an Ontario College Certificate and preparation to write the Red Seal Certificate of Qualification exam. It is intended for cooks already working in a professional not-for-profit institutional kitchen who want to formalize and specialize their skills through Ontario's registered apprenticeship system. Training covers basic cooking methods and food preparation for both savoury dishes and baked goods, safe food handling and food storage procedures, and nutrition and therapeutic diets suited to institutional settings such as hospitals, care facilities and other food-service operations. The apprenticeship combines paid, on-the-job training with a sponsoring employer alongside an in-school classroom component delivered in block release format, where apprentices attend Fanshawe one day a week for in-class instruction rather than full-time semesters. Admission, sponsorship and scheduling of in-school training blocks are administered through Skilled Trades Ontario's apprenticeship registration system rather than Fanshawe's standard academic application process.