In this blog post, I have exposed the top 10 best cooking courses in Kenya with their essential details, from this article you can be able to make better-informed decisions on How to Know quality cooking courses in Nairobi.
Vocational training institutions, including cooking courses, have steadily increased in Kenya. In 2019, there were a total of 74 registered vocational training institutions in Nairobi, offering a variety of courses, including cooking and culinary arts
Have you ever wondered how cooking courses in Kenya could enhance your culinary skills and introduce you to diverse flavors and ingredients?
If you’re looking to take your culinary skills to the next level, there’s no better place to do it than Kenya. With its diverse mix of cultures and cuisines, taking cooking courses in Kenya is an opportunity to learn how to cook dishes from all over the world.
Furthermore, not only will you be introduced to new ingredients and cooking techniques, but you will also get to experience the rich food culture of the city, if you’re a food enthusiast, taking cooking courses in Kenya is the right step to take you can also attend a culinary school in Kenya.
Not taking a cooking course can lead to several problems in the kitchen, such as a lack of confidence, limited knowledge of cooking techniques, and a narrow range of dishes to cook. Without proper training, one may struggle with basic cooking skills, resulting in burnt or overcooked food or injuries from mishandling kitchen tools.
Additionally, not taking a cooking course can limit one’s ability to experiment with new ingredients and cuisines, hindering creativity. Therefore, a cooking course can be a valuable investment for anyone looking to enhance their cooking skills and explore the vast world of food.
In this article, you will learn the benefits of taking up a cooking course, especially in Kenya, without wasting much of your time let’s go on to see what it takes and how you take up a quality cooking course in Kenya.
Table of Contents
What are the Benefits of Taking up a Cooking Course in Kenya?
Learn new culinary skills; by enrolling in a cooking course in Kenya, you will learn new culinary skills, techniques, and methods to apply to your cooking. You will also learn about different cuisines, ingredients, and cooking styles.
Gain hands-on experience; cooking courses in Kenya provide students with practical experience in a real kitchen environment. This hands-on experience will help you to develop your skills, confidence, and creativity in the kitchen.
Learn from experienced chefs; cooking courses in Kenya are taught by experienced chefs who have years of experience in the culinary industry. They will share their knowledge, skills, and expertise with you, and provide guidance and feedback to help you improve your cooking.
Network with industry professionals; cooking courses in Kenya provide students with the opportunity to network with industry professionals, such as chefs, restaurant owners, and food bloggers. These connections can lead to internships, job opportunities, and collaborations in the future.
Pursue a career in the culinary arts; cooking courses in Kenya provide a pathway for individuals who want to pursue a career in the culinary arts. By completing a cooking course, you will gain the skills and knowledge needed to start your own food business or work in a professional kitchen.
Experience the local culture; taking up a cooking course in Kenya allows you to experience the local culture through its cuisine. You will learn about traditional dishes, ingredients, and cooking methods, and gain a deeper understanding of the country’s food culture.
Overall, taking up a cooking course in Kenya provides a fun, engaging, and rewarding experience that can benefit you both personally and professionally.
Reasons You Should Take a Culinary Course
Reasons you should take a culinary course are numerous, but I will be telling you the basic reasons to take a cooking course in your quest to become successful in the culinary or food industry, taking a cooking course will help you become confident while cooking in the kitchen.
If you are contemplating signing up for a culinary or cooking course, I will encourage you to do so because taking a cookery course will give you the confidence to schedule your cooking, food, and eating activities, you will be able to make meals all by yourself.
Discovery of new cuisines — there are a lot of recipes and techniques that we don’t know about Kenya recipes included, taking a cooking course will expose you to varieties of cuisines, recipes foods, and various techniques but it depends on the culinary course you are taking, the challenge is your ti choose quality coking course.
Taking a cooking course will allow you to attend hands-on classes where students are taught by professionals in the culinary industry who qualify in the cooking field, they will be able to teach different techniques of cooking and also basic cooking skills.
Mastering of recipes — taking a cookery course will give me the chance to learn a variety of recipes and also be able to use these recipes to make delicious meals, the more you prepare meals with different recipes, the more you will be able to master various recipes with time.
Mastering the basic culinary skills — if you are a novice in the culinary and cooking industry taking a culinary/cookery course will give you the basic knowledge of cooking like varieties of knife skills, how to make pasta without it getting burnt and other basic things you will be able to learn from taking a cooking course.
Presentation techniques — cooking is not just about preparing meals presentation of meals matters a lot especially when you have a food blog, Instagram page, Facebook page, and other social media handles where you can post your dishes after making them as long as your presentation is nice your food will be photogenic and attractive.
Taking a culinary course will give you the chance to learn the best way to present food if a meal is well presented it attracts people to it and can also give appetite to people who were not interested in eating, if you are running a restaurant presenting your food well will attract customer to your restaurant.
List of Best Cooking Courses in Kenya
- BTEC HND CULINARY ARTS
- AHLEI Food and Beverage Management
- BTEC HND Hospitality Management
- Meat processors/butchers’ course
- Diploma in culinary arts
- International cookery
- Certificate in culinary operations
- Pastry and bakery
- Certificate in baking & patisserie
- The Art of Mixology
1. BTEC HND Culinary Arts
BTEC HND Culinary Arts is the higher national diploma in culinary arts and a two-year course that provides people interested in knowing how to cook and other food-related skills with the skills to become successful in the culinary and food industry.
This cooking course gives students immersed knowledge of food production, especially through hands-on practices in a professional and well-equipped kitchen, students are also taught the hospitality aspect of the culinary field.
In this cooking course, you will get a solid culinary arts education and also learn creative skills that will help you make delicious meals both national and continental dishes this is why this cooking course is considered one of the best cooking courses in Kenya.
These are the units offered by BTEC HND Culinary Arts:
- Menu Planning and Product Development
- Planning and Managing Food Production
- Contemporary Gastronomy
- Creative Patisserie
- Nutrition and Diet
- Hotel and Catering Law
- Conference and Banqueting Management
- Food and Beverage Control
- Food Production Practicals
2. AHLEI Food and Beverage Management
AHLEI Food and Beverage Management is one of the best cooking courses in Kenya that specializes in the food and beverage part of the food industry and where their students are taught the organization and production of beverages.
This cooking course will allow you to learn how to manage food and beverages. The students are opportune to be taught professionals with the operational experience, skills, and knowledge to manage food and beverage establishments.
AHLEI Food and Beverage Management offers diplomas in food & beverage management and this course is offered by the school named American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute and is often called AHLEI.
3. BTEC HND Hospitality Management
BTEC HND Hospitality Management is not just a course but a program offered by a culinary school in Kenya that goes by the name International Hotel & Tourism Institute but is popularly called IHTI in Nairobi.
The BTEC Higher National Diploma in International Hospitality Management is a three-year program study that gives excellent hands-on training on general business skills like hotel operations and other culinary-related operations.
This cooking course is also known as one of the best cooking courses in Kenya, focused on the hospitality aspect of the culinary and food industry, and this course enlightens the students on the homely part of cooking and serving.
This program includes some units like;
- Contemporary Hospitality Industry
- Rooms Division Operations
- Food and Beverage Management
- Customer Service
- The Developing Manager
- Marketing in Hospitality
- Conference and Banqueting Management
- Hospitality Operations Management
- Small Business Enterprise
- Wine and Bar Operations
4. Meat Processors/Butchers’ Course
The meat Processors/butchers’ course is one of the best cooking courses in Kenya, this cooking course is focused on teaching students a variety of knife skills which helps in the butchering aspect of this course.
This cooking course is designed to help people who are interested in learning the art and science of butchery, which involves butchering different types of meats like poultry, fish, seafood, beef, and other kinds of edible meats.
The meat Processors/butchers’ course is a course that covers the theoretical and practical aspects of butchering techniques, students are also allowed to learn in very well-equipped labs where they get hands-on training, and also covers other units like;
- Soft Skills
- Hygiene and Safety
- Meat Theory
- Practical Demonstration
5. Diploma in Culinary Arts
A diploma in culinary arts is one of the most resourceful cooking courses in Kenya that takes a maximum of two years to complete and it’s designed for people that are interested in becoming chefs in the food industry.
Diploma in a culinary cooking course that enlightens students about the preparation of food and also the management of beverages because food and beverages go hand in glove and this course is offered by the school named Boma International Hospitality College.
The things that are required to be able to apply for this course are just a minimum of a C plain in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education(KCSE) exams or having three passes in IGCSE, this cooking course is known as one of the best cooking courses in Kenya.
6. International cookery
This cooking course is one of the best cooking courses in Kenya that has an aim which is to immerse their students in an all-around overview of the cooking field in a modern kitchen so you get familiar with modern and up-to-date kitchen apparatus.
International cookery is being handled by professionals who are highly skilled in the culinary arts, there are options for people who want to take a cooking course but don’t have time for a full-time course, you can’t take a part-time course or sign up for just Saturday classes.
This cooking course is offered by the school named Boma International Hospitality College and at the end of this cooking course, you will be glad because it will be worth your time and money, you will be able to learn these things after taking this cooking course;
- Understand the kitchen environment; use of kitchen utensils and equipment
- Prepare basic stocks and sauces; classical to modern
- Prepare cold and hot appetizers
- Execute main-course dishes comprising fish, seafood, poultry, vegetarian, and other meat items
7. Certificate in Culinary Operations
This course is one of the best cooking courses in Kenya that provides students with the best culinary education this cooking course is offered by Boma International Hospitality College, this school offers food-related courses.
This course is a one-year course and is focused on giving the student the basic experience of familiarizing themself with the Kitchen environment, focusing primarily on the operational aspects of food production and handling.
Entry Requirement;
- KCSE Mean grade D+ (PLUS) with D+ (PLUS) or above in English or Kiswahili and a D- (MINUS) in Mathematics or any Science
- IB/A Level 3 Credits with at least a D in English
- IGCSE 3 ‘O’ Passes with D and above with at least a D in English or Kiswahili and D in Math or any Science
- SATs 1080 and above out of 1600
8. Pastry and Bakery
The pastry and bakery cooking courses are designed to teach students the excellent recipes used in making pastries and baking and also hands-on lessons where they are allowed to make pastries, cakes, bread, and decoration of the cake.
This hands-on lesson is supervised by well-qualified professionals in the culinary field, they are there to assist, teach, and put the students through any difficulty they encounter in the kitchen and also help them get familiar with different varieties of knife skills.
The pastry and bakery cooking course is one of the best cooking courses in Kenya that equips the learners with the necessary skills and competence to understand and handle delicious doughy products, chocolate creations, savory pies, bread, tortes, flans, and many more.
9. Certificate in Baking and Patisserie
A certificate in baking & patisserie is a course that offers the knowledge and skills that are specialized in the aspect of patisserie and baking and there are also hands-on classes organized by chefs who are organized by top-notch chefs.
The learning experience you get from this cooking course equips one with the competency in Fundamentals of baking & pastry, artisan bakery & viennoiserie, chocolate creations & confiserie, tourier and cookie expertise, iced desserts as well management modules to equip one with skills to run or own a pastry based kitchen section, outlet or business.
A certificate in baking & patisserie is a cooking course that takes a minimum of I year to study and is also considered one of the best cooking courses in Kenya.
10. The Art of Mixology
The Art of Mixology is not a proper cooking course its more like a bar course where if you want to start up your bar or show off your skills at home, this short course introduces you to the fascinating history of cocktails and bartending, from the pre-prohibition era to today’s fantastic creations.
This course will you the necessary knowledge and practical skills to enable you to understand the components of any drink and the chemical composition that influences color, flavor, and taste, this will also include the art of stirring, muddling, and layering, with the fair.
This course also gives theoretical and practical applications, this course gives you the knowledge to be a mixologist and is offered by Boma International Hospitality College.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cost of Cooking Courses in Kenya?
The cost of cooking courses in Kenya varies depending on the institution and program. Some courses may be affordable, while others may be expensive. It is advisable to research and compare different courses to find one that suits your budget.
What is the Duration of a Cooking Course in Kenya?
The duration of cooking courses in Kenya varies depending on the institution and the program. Some courses may last for a few weeks, while others may take up to a year or more.
What are the Career Opportunities for Graduates of Cooking Courses in Kenya?
Graduates of cooking courses in Kenya can pursue careers as chefs, cooks, pastry chefs, restaurant managers, and catering managers. They can also start their food businesses, such as restaurants, cafes, and catering companies.
Are there any Part-time or Online Cooking Courses in Kenya?
Yes, some institutions in Kenya offer part-time or online cooking courses. These courses are designed for individuals who are unable to attend full-time classes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have explored some of the best cooking courses in Kenya that offer unique and exciting opportunities to learn culinary skills.
Each course offers something different for individuals with various interests and skill levels, these cooking courses provide hands-on experience, and students get to learn from experienced chefs and instructors.
Whether you want to learn how to make authentic African cuisine, improve your baking skills, or pursue a career in the culinary arts, Kenya has a wide range of cooking courses that cater to your interests. By enrolling in a cooking course in Kenya, you will gain new skills, make connections, and experience the local culture through its cuisine.
So, don’t hesitate, to sign up for a cooking course today and take your culinary skills to the next level!
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