The Culinary Arts Certificate consists of the 28-week Professional Cook 1 (PC1), and the 14-week Professional Cook 2 (PC2).The Culinary Institute of Vancouver Island (CIVI) at VIU provides students with the options of the Professional Cook 1 (PC1) Certificate (offered through the Nanaimo, Cowichan & tiwšɛmawtxʷ · (Powell River) campuses), the one-year Culinary Arts Certificate (PC1 & PC2 offered at the Nanaimo, Cowichan & tiwšɛmawtxʷ · (Powell River) campuses), and the two-year Culinary Management Diploma (offered at the Nanaimo campus). The Certificate and Diploma programs provide students with culinary training and management skills, giving them the leading edge to advancement in the culinary profession. Upon entering the Certificate program, culinary students are registered as Professional Cook 1 apprentices, gaining technical training while accruing apprentice hours. As a part of both the Culinary Arts Certificate and the Culinary Diploma programs, students participate in a paid coop work placement, gaining industry work experience and additional apprentice hours.
Upon entering the program, culinary students:
- Are registered as Professional Cook apprentices. The Culinary Arts Certificate consists of 28-week Professional Cook 1 (PC1), and the 14-week Professional Cook 2 (PC2), and a paid Co-op work practicum.
- Gain industry work experience and PC1 apprentice hours. This often becomes full time employment toward their career paths.
- Will begin their first year by spending three weeks in our state of the art food lab, focusing on learning basic cooking skills and good culinary habits without production pressure. Students then move to the main kitchen, rotating through five separate sections. Students will prepare breakfast, vegetables, starches, and proteins, as well as study cold kitchen, pastry, and meat cutting. Food produced by the students will be served in the VIU cafeterias, VIU Discovery Room, and other affiliated restaurants.
