Do you enjoy cooking and serving food? Are you good with people and able to work well with others?

If so, you might find an apprenticeship in the culinary arts (that’s food preparation and serving!) just your ticket.

Restaurants, schools, cruise ships, senior centers – well, any place that serves food – are always in need of highly skilled cooks. You can apprentice to be a breakfast cook, a garde manager, even a pastry cook.

If you love spending time in the kitchen, here’s how to learn more.

Washington State Chef’s Association offers information about careers and apprenticeships in food preparation.

Washington State’s Culinary Arts Apprenticeship Program offers many opportunities for apprenticeships in the food industry.

The Culinary Arts Program at South Seattle Community College offers streaming video and information about training for different careers in food.

South Seattle Community College also offers apprenticeships for people who want to work in the meat business, in a grocery store or restaurant.

You can also see videos of people working in food-related jobs. Just select “Hospitality and Tourism” as your occupational category and then choose the job you’d like to see.

“Culinarians” spend three years learning all about preparing and serving great food – everything from buying the best meat, fish, and vegetables to supervising kitchen staff. Would you like to cook your way into a career?

As a culinary apprentice, you’ll have the chance to work for a real restaurant or professional kitchen. Is Mexican food your thing? There’s a big demand right now for skilled Mexican chefs! And the same is true for every other type of specialty cook.

Do you love dessert? Another apprentice opportunity is as a pastry or baking chef. You’ll have the chance to work for a bakery or restaurant making tasty treats all day long!