Search Italy’s Culinary Training Schools

Who among us hasn’t dreamed of escaping to the rolling golden hills of a little village in Italy to learn how to cook delicious Italian dishes, carouse with the locals, and live on wine and pasta? Many people actually act on that impulse and attend a cooking school, after which they make a great culinary career.

Finding a School

There are numerous cooking schools where locals and visitors can learn the art, tradition, and techniques of creating scrumptious Italian food. Some schools offer formal training for professionals, while other provide week or day courses to tourists vying for a richer, more expert view into pastas, seafood, coffee, wine, and gelatos.

Cooking schools in Italy accommodate all types of students. Most schools offer either professional courses, lasting a few months to a year, alongside day or week-long courses for casual students or professional seeking continuing specialty training. Many schools are founded on the culinary principles of a specific region in Italy (i.e., Tuscany, Parma, Marche), as each region has its own unique ingredients, styles, and tastes. For example, Tuscan cuisine typically uses olive oil, beans, red meat, fresh vegetables, and rustic bread for dishes. A Venetian dish, on the other hand, incorporates seafood and shellfish.

One of the more well-known and largest culinary arts schools in Italy is the Italian Institute for Advanced Culinary and Pastry Arts, located in Satriano. Here they offer full immersion classes in cooking, baking, pastry, and gelato for professionals and students. Specialty classes include advanced Mediterranean cooking, pastry desserts, and specialty breads. Experienced chefs can also take advantage of the school’s Master of Italian Cuisine program. This program is a three-month course offered in either Calabira or Parma, and has a three-month internship option for qualified students.

Perhaps one of the only recognized culinary programs affiliated with a college or university is the G. Brera Culinary Institute in Como. This program is accredited by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR). The Foundation Course in Culinary Arts incorporates in-class instruction and hands-on internship practice covering food preparation, techniques, equipment, and working with pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wines to create Italian regional recipes. Graduates of the program are awarded the Foundation Course in Culinary Arts.

Formal, private training can be found at the Scuola di Arte Culinaria Cordon Bleu in Perugia. Here, students can earn take weekly cooking lessons on topics ranging from basic cooking to international cooking, baking, ice cream, Italian bread, and seafood, or they can complete a three-month program in Professional Cooking program. The Professional Cooking program includes eight weeks of class instruction followed by 4 weeks of practical training in professional settings throughout the region.

Whether you’re an amateur or professional with a passion for Italian cuisine, you can’t get a more authentic education anywhere else.

Online-based programs:

The Art Institutes of Pittsburgh – Online Division
www.aionline.edu/
Hotel and Restaurant Management
MSCHE Accredited

Johnson and Wales University
www.jwu.edu/campus.aspx?id=25934
Baking & Pastry Arts and Food Service Management
Culinary Arts & Food Service Management
NEASC Accredited

Le Cordon Bleu – Online Division
www.chefs.edu/online/
B.A. Culinary Management
ACCSC & ACICS Accredited

Penn Foster Career School
www.pennfoster.edu/
Hotel and Restaurant Management
DETC & CHEA Accredited

Sullivan College
www.sullivan.edu/
Beverage Management
CCSACS & ACF Accredited

Campus-based Italian Programs:

Culinary Institute Gianni Brera
Via Carloni 8
Como 22100
Italy
+39 031 305540
www.centrocasnati.eu
Culinary Arts
MIUR Accredited

Magici Sapori
Via Giovan Battista Pergolesi 10
Firenze 50144
Italy
+39 553246746
www.magicisapori.com
Tuscan Cooking
Chocolates
Pasta & Pizza

Italian Cooking School
Via F. Conti 5
Jesi (AN) 60035
Italy
(845) 340-1799
www.italcook.it
Italian Cooking

Scuola di Arte Culinaria Cordon Bleu
Via Rivolta Valvitiano, 10
Perugia 6100
Italy
+39 333 9813695
www.cordonbleu-it.com
Italian Professional Cooking
Short Specialty Courses