Catering and Gourmet Cooking: Diploma Program Summary

About this article
Catering and gourmet cooking are passions that you can combine into a rewarding career. Preparing gourmet food for restaurants and private parties allows you to be creative and fun with food. Earning a diploma in catering and gourmet cooking will allow you to enter this exciting career field. Read more about this career below.
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What is a Catering and Gourmet Cooking Diploma?

A catering and gourmet cooking diploma will train students how to prepare different types of meals and desserts for social events, private dinner parties, and restaurants. It will also teach students how to successfully run their own catering companies.

Reasons to Earn a Catering and Gourmet Cooking Diploma

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, there is a rising trend with those have a catering and gourmet cooking diploma to work for established commercial restaurants because they are paid more than if they work for themselves. This should not deter a person from opening their own restaurant or catering company, however.

Career Related Information

Salary Information

Those who have a catering and gourmet cooking diploma can expect to earn between $31,000 and $51,000 annually.

Economic Outlook and Growth of the Catering and Gourmet Cooking Field

There will always be a need for those who can manage a restaurant and who know how food should be prepared.

Degree Specifics

Required Courses

Students will take courses that are concerned with the preparation and presentation of food. They will take other courses, which will teach them about starting and building a business. Basic courses required include:

  • Baking
  • Preparation of foods including meat and fish
  • Building a kitchen
  • Business and finance

Skills Obtained

The skills obtained from earning a catering and gourmet cooking diploma will teach students how to prepare specialty meals for large events. Students will learn how to keep food warm for long periods of time, how to create dishes that are both appetizing and delicious, and how to train employees properly.

Popular Schools

  • Online Programs Available
    1. Penn Foster High School

    Program Options

    High School Diploma
      • HS Diploma
      • HS Diploma
  • Valdosta, GA

    Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

  • Wheeling, WV

    West Virginia Northern Community College

  • Waco, GA

    West Georgia Technical College

  • Pewaukee, WI

    Waukesha County Technical College

  • Topeka, KS

    Washburn Institute of Technology

  • Vincennes, IN

    Vincennes University

  • Fishersville, VA

    Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center

  • Spartanburg, SC

    Spartanburg Community College

  • Albuquerque, NM

    Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Featured Schools

Penn Foster High School

  • HS Diploma

What is your highest level of education?

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

West Virginia Northern Community College

West Georgia Technical College

Waukesha County Technical College

Washburn Institute of Technology

Vincennes University

Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center