San Diego Culinary Institute

About

The San Diego Culinary Institute trains aspiring chefs for careers in elite fine dining kitchens. Our graduates have earned national and international recognition for unmatched culinary skills, they developed in a program of study available only at SDCI.

Story

Study techniques, not recipes

You can learn recipes from a cookbook. Come to sdci because you want a career.

Over 80% of your intensive, hands-on program of study takes place in a kitchen. You work beside exceptionally well-qualified Chef Instructors, in well-equipped kitchens that feature small class sizes. Because we offer diploma programs, you won't waste your time (or money) on make-work General Ed courses. All of your training focuses on the skills you need to launch your new career in one of the world's elite fine-dining kitchens and to quickly get ahead, like so many SDCI graduates have done before you.

Products

Advanced Professional Diploma in Cuisine (Commis Method)

Only SDCI offers this unique program of study. It represents the culmination of years of research and program development by some of the finest culinary educators in the country. Based upon proven methods of culinary education and incorporating a new approach based upon how adults think and learn, the Commis Method leads aspiring Chefs through a more logical series of courses, progressing from the simple to the more complex, with each course in the series leading naturally to the next.

You learn hands-on, with over 80% of your studies taking place in well-equipped kitchen classrooms. The focus is on technique not recipes. Our phenomenal success has proven that with a command of the foundational skills of the fine-dining kitchen, the Cuisine graduate can successfully prepare virtually any recipe, in virtually any cuisine

We offer the Advanced Professional Diploma in Cuisine program on both full-time and part-time schedules, with either daytime or nighttime classes to choose from. Classes begin throughout the Fall and Spring. Contact us for more information and the schedule of classes for our next start.


Advanced Professional Diploma in Pastry

Chefs often refer to the science of the bake shop as opposed to the art of general cuisine. As with many truisms, there's some truth to this idea, but it only tells half the story:

Bakers and patissiers must execute their creations with a great deal of precision; a pinch too much flour or a dollop too little of yeast will completely alter your result. There is a definite science to the bake shop. But the most talented bakers and patissiers also wield a stunning artistry that commands the eye. For proof of this, just take a look at the photos of our students' work, here on Facebook.

As a student in the SDCI Pastry program, we will challenge you to master both the science and the art in your future profession. You will understand the chemistry behind the interaction of flour, yeast, and water, as well as the artistry required to shape your desserts in eye-catching forms.

We offer the Advanced Professional Diploma in Pastry program only on a full-time schedule, with classes starting in mid-October and mid-April every year. Contact us for the exact dates of the next start.