How to Choose a Cooking School in Nebraska

Find Culinary Programs

Culinary Arts education programs in Nebraska deliver all the cooking kung fu you could need to compete in any cosmopolitan marketplace. The Institute for the Culinary Arts in Omaha, alone features a world-class curriculum that trains a smorgasbord of food service industry professionals. Interested in food technology and research? Study to become a culinologist—you could earn well over $100,000 annually in a high-tech food career just like that. Degrees and majors are available to chefs, budding bakers and hospitality and catering managers.

Choosing a Nebraska Culinary School

Other state colleges and universities may also provide exactly the education you need, as well. Remember, technical and business colleges tend to be a bit more affordable and profession-driven (less academics, more practical). Thing to remember when shopping for a school is to ensure it is amply equipped to give you all the career fuel you need to hit the ground running when you need to strike out and find a job:

• Internship and externship opportunities are imperative
• Well-equipped professional teaching kitchens make certain you know how top-grade pro equipment works
• Career guidance services ensure you are on track for success short-term and long-term
• Job placement assistance proves the school’s mettle—many have a 90% placement record or better.

Consider membership in a local chapter of a national professional organization:

• American Culinary Federation Professional Chefs and Apprentices of Nebraska-Lincoln
• American Culinary Federation Pro Chefs and Culinarians of the Heartland-Omaha
• Research Chefs of America North Central Region

Getting a Good Chef’s Job in Nebraska

Affiliation with these types of organizations gives your resume more credibility AND it offers you valuable opportunities to network locally and beyond, gain access to valuable job listings, get in on educational events and competitions, and grow your career short-term and long-term.

Salaries for chefs vary widely across Nebraska and are usually higher in larger cities—Omaha, Lincoln-- and in top resort and tourist regions. Average salary for an executive chef in Nebraska is $50,000+.

Specialty Culinary Schools in Nebraska

Institute for the Culinary Arts in Omaha is a Mecca for budding student chefs in the Midwest. Here you can learn all the skills you need to compete ANYWHERE: learn in state-of-the-art teaching kitchens, work/learn in a demanding student-run kitchen and learn under the guidance of professional chef/instructors. Programs are designed to train a wide spectrum of professionals including research chefs, pastry chefs, chefs, and chef managers; hospitality and beverage managers and dieticians and nutritionists. Degree programs include: Associates Culinary Arts, Associates Chef’s Apprentice, Associates Culinary Management, Associates Baking and Pastry, Associates Culinology, Associates Hospitality and Management.

The Classy Gourmet Culinary Arts Center in Omaha primarily caters to serious amateur cooks, but this is also an excellent way to rub elbows with some of the region’s most highly acclaimed chefs.

Nebraska State Colleges, Community and Technical Colleges Offering Culinary, Restaurant Management, and/or Hospitality Degrees

• Lincoln School of Commerce - Lincoln
  
• Midland Lutheran College – Fremont
  
• Nebraska College of Business – Omaha
  
• Union College – Lincoln
  
• University of Nebraska at Kearney – Lincoln

ACF Accredited Programs

Postsecondary

Metropolitan Community College
5730 N 30th St.,
Omaha, NE 68111-1634

Phone: (531) 622-2577
Contact: Steve Bell

Programs

• AAS Degree in Culinary Arts and Management - Bakery and Pastry
• AAS Degree in Culinary Arts and Management - Culinary Arts

Southeast Community College
8800 O St.,
Lincoln, NE 68520-1227

Phone: (402) 437-2863
Contact: Brandon S. Harpster, CEC - bharpster@southeast.edu

Programs

• Associate Degree in Baking and Pastry
• Associate Degree in Food Service Hospitality: Culinary Arts Focus