Offered by Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada, Culinary Arts Certificate is a foundation in Arts, Design & Architecture programme. The programme runs for 50 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 29,227 per total (CAD 7,000 per total for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Foundation
Field:Arts, Design & Architecture
Duration: 50 weeks
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 7,000 / total
International tuition: CAD 29,227 / total
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This one-year certificate, totalling 50 weeks and roughly 1,500 hours at Okanagan College's Kelowna campus, prepares students with an interest in restaurant, food service, and hospitality careers for entry-level cooking positions. The program is structured in three parts: a 30-week Professional Cook 1 term covering core kitchen skills, a 10-week co-op placement in an industry kitchen, and a 10-week Professional Cook 2 term that builds on the co-op experience. Students must secure an employer sponsor to complete the Level 2 portion and must document at least 400 work-based training hours to graduate, giving the program a strong practical, workplace-connected component alongside its campus teaching kitchens. On successful completion, graduates can challenge the provincial Cook Certificate of Qualification exams for both Level 1 and Level 2, and the program carries apprenticeship technical training credit for Professional Cook Levels 1 and 2 recognized by SkilledTradesBC, giving graduates a head start if they continue into a cook apprenticeship. The certificate suits people with no prior professional kitchen experience who want a structured, campus-based route into cooking careers, combining classroom instruction, hands-on kitchen practice, and a supervised workplace placement.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission to the Culinary Arts Certificate follows Okanagan College's standard trades entry point: applicants need B.C. secondary-school graduation or the equivalent, or, as a mature applicant, to be at least 19 years old and out of secondary school for at least one year. The English requirement is met by English 10 with a minimum of 50 percent or one of the college's published alternatives; the math requirement is a minimum of 50 percent in the mathematics course specified for the applicant's graduation year, with the college's own Trades Entrance Assessment available for applicants who have not met the math or English standard within the past seven years. Applicants must also submit a valid, non-expired FOODSAFE Level 1 certificate. No IELTS, TOEFL or other standardized English test, minimum grade point average, portfolio or interview is published. The one-year, 50-week program's applications are currently closed and reopen in January 2027 for a September 2027 start.
Application Details
Start Date:September 2027
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC (a $30 CAD fee): Okanagan College sets no fixed closing date for most programmes in the 2026-27/2027-28 cycle. Applications for a Fall intake open at 8:30 a.m. on October's first business day of the preceding year, and for a Winter intake at 8:30 a.m. on February's first business day of the preceding year (exceptions apply); Practical Nursing's January intake opens at 9:00 a.m. on April's first business day of the preceding year. Most programmes accept applications until seats fill, though Nursing and Dental programmes set their own fixed or ranked deadlines on their own pages. International applicants also apply through EducationPlannerBC, paying a $100 CAD per-programme fee; the College publishes no institution-wide international closing date and directs applicants to each programme's own page. Admission is otherwise rolling. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
