Top 7 Culinary Schools in Italy to Master the Art of Cooking

For foodies and home cooks, a holiday in Italy includes food tours and short-term cooking classes. You gain basic knowledge on traditional methods and ingredients to create some authentic dishes for friends and family back home.

Italian cuisine has been developed and perfected over 2000 years and can be tricky to master. You need to spend enough time in the country to learn techniques and secrets from trained cooks and food experts. A professional culinary school helps you understand procedures and intricacies of this cuisine at a chef’s level.

To help aspiring professionals and food entrepreneurs on their journey, we’ve curated a list of top culinary schools in Italy. Short courses are usually offered in English while longer duration ones require conversational level skills in Italian. Small batches of students are taught everything about Italian cuisine; from food history to food safety, by trained and experienced chefs.

Choose a culinary academy based on career skills you want to acquire and the cooking techniques you seek to master.

 

1. Cordon Bleu

Via Giusti, Florence, Italy

A famous institution where qualified chefs provide hands-on experience in a formal kitchen atmosphere. There are separate courses aimed at amateurs and professionals. Aspiring chefs can join short-term professional courses in Italian cooking and pastry (10-12 weeks). The institute also offers three-year bachelor and two-year master degree in Culinary Arts and Haute Cuisine.

2. Apicius International School of Hospitality

Via Guelfa, Florence, Italy

Located near Florence’s central market, Apicius (culinary arm of Florence Arts University) offers a unique learning experience. Join one-year certificate courses such as Baking and Pastry, Culinary Arts or Wine Studies. Enrol in a four-year Hospitality Management course, two-year Culinary Arts course, or post graduate Master’s programme in Italian Cuisine. Students get to intern in the institute’s fine dining restaurant, Ganzo. Baking and pastry students run its bakery, Fedora.

3. Coquis

Via Flaminia, Rome, Italy

A recent entrant in the culinary world (2012), this school is popular for its training facility and modern approach to cooking. At the advanced level, you have the Bachelor of Science degree titled Science and Culinary Arts. This six semester course teaches technical and scientific skills needed to work as a chef, consultant, and research or teaching faculty in the food industry. Coquis has a special career program for those without work experience, the 27-week. Professional Kitchen Night.

4. Vesuvio International School of Hospitality (VISH)

Via G.Porzio, Naples, Italy

Located in historical city of Naples, VISH offers both short and long duration courses in English by experienced tutors. Enrol in the intensive one-year course in Culinary Arts or Hospitality Management. If you’re interested in a career in the hospitality industry, check out their university level Bachelor degree programmes in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management.

5. Sapori University

Strada Montecorneo, Perugia, Italy

Perfect your cooking techniques while studying in picturesque Perugia. From pizza to chocolate making, you can pick up a variety of skills with short-term courses. This is one of the few institutes that offer a scholarship to students joining an academic course in culinary arts. Their seven-month course with internship – Chef Italian prepares you with skills required to work in restaurants, hotels and food companies.

6. Florence Culinary School (FCAS)

Via de’ Conti, Florence, Italy

Another culinary school located in beautiful Florence, FCAS offers customized Italian Cuisine Chef Training courses with restaurant or barista internships. You can attend the six, twelve or eighteen-month long sessions. Italian language lessons and Sommelier training are offered as part of the course study. Their six-month Italian Home Cooking course can help students start a home-based catering service.

7. Italian Chef Academy

Via della Camilluccia, Rome, Italy

The academy located near the central market in an elegant part of Rome offers structured culinary courses on Italian cuisine. The professional Chef course has four learning levels (with workshops and internship) covering cooking fundamentals and food safety. The academy also has a three to six-month course in Italian cuisine aimed at international chefs from accredited culinary schools. English translation services are offered on prior request for these programmes.

Have you attended a course – diploma or degree course in Italian cuisine? Share your experiences and school endorsements with other readers in the comments.