College of the Canyons
Institute for Culinary Education
26455 Rockwell Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
College: (661) 259-7800
Foundation: (661) 362-3434

College of the Canyons officials in Santa Clarita have embarked upon a capital campaign designed to raise funds for the construction of a brand new, state-of-the-art, on-campus culinary facility, which would provide a permanent home for the college’s acclaimed Culinary Arts Program and will greatly expand the number of affordable and accessible training opportunities in the field.

“College of the Canyons has built a well-deserved reputation for meeting the needs of our students and the community, and our new Culinary Arts facility will be just the latest example,” said COC Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “The college has long sought a way to expand the depth and breadth of its culinary department, in order to serve as many students as possible. But the absence of a permanent facility large enough to host such an undertaking has been a continual roadblock.”

In its five years of existence, the culinary arts program has been housed in three separate facilities – the existing college cafeteria, a restaurant space at the Westfield Valencia Town Center and, currently, at another restaurant space in Castaic.

While each of these temporary locations has served its purpose by providing students with a professional setting where they can hone their cooking skills and enhance the “student experience” by gaining access to on-campus support services and facilities – library, academic counseling, health office etc. The presence of a permanent Culinary Center would also allow culinary students to enroll in other general education and business courses needed to earn certificates or degrees.

The college’s culinary arts program currently offers programs designed to enable students to work toward a certificate of achievement in culinary arts, along with a certificate of specialization programs in baking and pastry, wine studies, and hospitality wine service. Plus, college officials are already in the process of developing an Associate in Arts degree program for culinary students.

College of the Canyons has long played an integral role in the educational and economic development of the Santa Clarita Valley. Because of its presence and the impact it makes, many of the valley’s businesses and industries have come to rely on the college to provide the skills and knowledge their employees need in an ever-changing economic environment.

The culinary arts, restaurant, and food service industries are no different, but since the majority of culinary training is conducted by for-profit, proprietary schools and institutions – which charge much higher per-unit rates – the college’s Institute for Culinary Education (iCuE) is one of the few options available to students looking to receive affordable, high-quality training in this high-demand field.