How to Become a Chef in Texas

You’re thinking of becoming a chef because you really enjoy cooking and eating delicious food. 

But are you able to cope with hot kitchen temperatures and a physically-demanding work environment?  Do you have the creativity and courage to adapt and develop recipes? 

Good. 

Then you are an excellent candidate for attending a culinary arts program and starting your career as a chef.

Training to Become a Chef

Having formal education or training is not a requirement to start working as a cook at most neighborhood restaurants, particularly at franchise restaurants with fixed menus. However, if you are interested in creating your own recipes and menus, or perhaps owning your own restaurant some day, then attending a quality culinary school is a must.

    Culinary Institute LeNotre (Rating: 4.4 of 5)
    The CULINARY INSTITUTE LENOTRE® offers a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts degree, which combines intensive, hands-on culinary labs with rigorous online business and management coursework. The program is designed to be completed in approximately three years, preparing students for management positions or business ownership. While the exact certifications are not listed, the program emphasizes acquiring high-level technical and management skills and includes high-quality internships to build a competitive professional network.

    • Houston

    Dallas College
    Dallas College's Culinary Arts AAS costs about $5,940 at the Dallas County rate (October 2026), and five credit certificates cost $1,584 to $3,960. Continuing-education options include courses toward American Culinary Federation Certified Culinarian and Fundamentals Cook credentials ($880 to $3,960). Training centers on the Culinary, Pastry and Hospitality Center, with 10 kitchens and a restaurant, and courses are listed at all seven campuses.

    • Farmers Branch, Lancaster, Mesquite, Dallas, Irving, Coppell, Garland

    Escoffier Culinary Arts
    Escoffier teaches culinary arts on campus in Boulder, CO and Austin, TX, as a 30-week diploma or a 60-week associate degree, and online, as a 60-week Culinary Arts & Operations diploma or an associate degree. Each includes one or two in-person externships at a site the student finds and the school approves. Only the residential programs are ACF-accredited. Totals for starts from 18 August 2026: $24,688 for the online diploma, $37,305 online associate, $20,757 for the Boulder diploma.

    • Austin

    Grayson College
    The Culinary Arts AAS (60 credits) and the 39-credit Culinary Arts Certificate are accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation. Students must earn ServSafe certification and a B or better in CHEF 1205 before taking most other kitchen courses, and both awards include a practicum (CHEF 1164). A 24-credit Basic Chef Training Certificate and a 12-credit skills award are shorter options, and AAS graduates can add an Enhanced Pastry Arts award. 2026-27 tuition and fees are $100 a credit in-district, $150 out-of-district and $210 for non-residents.

    • Denison, Van Alstyne

    Houston City College
    Culinary Arts is taught only at HCC's Central Campus, which has its own culinary building, and the program is accredited by the ACF Education Foundation. Awards are a 16-credit Prep Cook certificate, a 33-credit Certificate Level 2 and a 60-credit AAS. HCC reports a 100% ACF certification pass rate for 2025-26 and 21 graduates in 2025; its 78% job-placement figure dates from 2017 to 2020. The AAS costs about $5,070 in tuition and fees at the 2026-27 in-district rate.

    • Houston, Katy, Missouri City, Stafford

    Mountain View Vocational Institute (Rating: 4.5 of 5)
    Mountain View Vocational Institute’s Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts program is a 12‑week course that combines food safety, restaurant operations, and hands-on culinary training, including an externship in professional kitchens. Students gain practical management and cooking skills to prepare for careers running restaurants, food trucks, or catering businesses. Graduates earn a certificate of completion and the ANSI-accredited SERV Safe Management Certification, enhancing their employability in the food service industry.

    • El Paso

    Remington College
    Remington College teaches culinary skills through a Culinary Skills Essentials diploma and a Culinary Management associate degree (AAS or AOS). At Dallas, TX, tuition was $17,393 for the diploma and $30,739 for the associate (July 2026 catalog), and Remington reports that 66% of the diploma's 2023–24 Dallas starters graduated and 17 of 18 graduates counted were employed. Nashville, TN teaches baking and pastry instead.

    • Dallas, North Richland Hills, League City

    Southwest University
    The Culinary Institute by Southwest University offers a 110-week AAS in Culinary Arts on campus: 205 credits and 2,470 clock hours, split into 1,710 lecture, 520 lab and 240 externship hours, with a student-run restaurant. No ServSafe or American Culinary Federation credential is named. The 2023-24 catalog, the latest we could read, put tuition, books and fees at $54,822 at the El Paso campus; the February 2024 program insert prices the courses at $42,875 in tuition alone.

    • El Paso

    Tarrant County College
    Culinary Arts at TCC Southeast in Arlington offers a 60-credit AAS and an 18-credit Culinary Arts I certificate; the Catering/Private Chef certificate stopped taking new students on 1 September 2026. In-county tuition is $1,332 for the certificate and $4,440 for the degree (2026–27). The program does not claim ACF accreditation, and it reports that only 10% (2022–23) and 7% (2021–22) of students earned ACF certification within a year.

    • Fort Worth, Hurst, Arlington

    Texas State Technical College
    TSTC's culinary program is Culinary & Hospitality Management, taught at the Sweetwater and Waco campuses in person or hybrid with daytime classes. The associate degree is the only plan the program page lists, so there is no short culinary certificate, and the page mentions no American Culinary Federation accreditation. Both campuses have student housing and a cafeteria. Culinary is in Tier 2 of TSTC's four tuition tiers.

    • Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood, Hutto, Rosenberg, Harlingen, Marshall, New Braunfels, Red Oak, Sweetwater, Waco

    The Culinary School of Fort Worth (Rating: 4.6 of 5)
    The Culinary School of Fort Worth offers a 9-month Professional Culinary Program that includes 7 months of hands-on kitchen training and a 2-month externship at a local culinary establishment. Students graduate with a certificate from the school, ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Certification, and practical experience rooted in classical techniques and kitchen management. The program is accredited by both ACCET and the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission (ACFEFAC), emphasizing intensive, career-focused culinary education without general academic requirements.

    • Fort Worth

    Weatherford College
    Culinary Arts at Weatherford College is a 60-credit AAS that includes a cooperative work experience course (CHEF 1380) and finishes with two capstone courses, RSTO 2405 and CHEF 2302. The 2026-27 catalog has no shorter culinary certificate, and it does not state American Culinary Federation accreditation. Tuition is $125 per credit hour for Parker County residents, $220 for other Texans and $312 for out-of-state students (2026-27).

    • Weatherford, Bridgeport

What You Learn in a Culinary Arts Program

Culinary programs at schools in Texas include certificate programs, Associate degrees and Bachelor degrees.

A Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts will provide you with the most well-rounded curriculum including classes in: prep cutting, food presentation and design, basic cooking techniques and recipes, and management.

Some schools such as Remington College and The Art Institute, also offer classes such as food service nutrition, menu management, and wine pairing.

Make sure to look at the program curriculum when choosing your culinary arts program. While a Bachelors degree may have more business elements to it than an Associates degree, the same may not be true of an Associates degree compared to a certificate program.

Some certificate programs are so complete that the only difference they have to an Associates degree is that they don’t include general education classes. 

Some culinary programs also differentiate themselves by including an externship requirement where students get to practice the skills from the classroom in the real world. Having this little bit of real life experience in a kitchen is extremely valuable when you are looking for a job.

Additional Culinary Certifications and Memberships

There are memberships that you can pay for to help advance your resume, as well as a sanitation certification offered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Some employers prefer to hire chefs who have this Servsafe certification. The certification is obtained by taking an online assessment when you’re ready. The site also provides a course you can use before taking the test. The course takes between 60 and 90 minutes to complete, but has no set time limit. There are 40 questions regarding sanitation, food temperatures, allergens and personal hygiene. The course and the test are also offered in Spanish.

The Texas Chefs Association/American Culinary Federation also offer a membership that you can use to network with other professionals. Having this membership also entitles you to discounts on the association’s training seminars and conferences. Depending on your position in the food industry, and if you are a student, prices range from $71 to $300 for a year-long membership.

Culinary Careers

Within the culinary world, there are several positions you might look for depending on your skills and interests.

Chef De Partie is the general term for chefs who are in charge of a specific section of the kitchen. They are also called station chefs. In large kitchens, they work as managers of their section of the kitchen, managing other cooks or assistants.  Examples of Chef De Partie include Pastry Chefs, Saute Chefs, Fry Chefs, and Vegetable Chefs.

Pastry Chefs, also called Pâtissier, focus on creating desserts, breads and breakfast pastries. As a pastry chef, you will be responsible for baking, creating fillings and frostings, decorating, and possibly also managing and supervising the work of others.  You might work in a bakery, a cafe, the bakery portion of a grocery store, or in a restaurant.  If you are the head pastry chef at an independent restaurant, you will also help in developing the dessert menu and in the purchasing of dessert ingredients.

Executive Chefs, also called Chef de Cuisine,  are the top supervisors in a kitchen. This is a position more common in formal work environments such as in hotels or fine dining restaurants.

Sous Chefs work just under the executive chef. Sous Chefs take over many of the responsibilities of the executive chef when the executive chef is not working.  In addition, sous chefs may take over a larger share of the unusual shifts such as night shifts or holidays.

In addition to dealing with food, some chef positions like the executive chef position also require business management skills. Chefs have to anticipate menu popularity so they can make lists to assign work for the prep cooks, and so they can place appropriate food and ingredient orders. Chefs may also have to hire, train and supervise all other staff in their kitchen to make sure the food is being prepared in a sanitary environment, on-time for customers, and of course, following the recipe.