Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Programs
  3. Culinary Arts

Overview

The Culinary Arts program at MCC consists of two programs: Culinary Arts & Management and Hospitality & Restaurant Leadership.

For those on the Culinary Arts track, students will learn the foundational steps of becoming a professional chef or baker. Hands-on experience takes place in the MCC Institute for the Culinary Arts, which is a highly developed facility.

Students will learn the ins and outs of working in the service industry, building strong leadership and teamwork skills along the way.

Degrees & Certificates Offered

Associate in Applied Science:

Certificates of Achievement:

Career Certificate:

Accreditation

MCC Culinary Arts associates programs are accredited by the American Culinary Federation with exemplary status.

American Culinary Federation - Standard of Excellence for Chefs logoAmerican Culinary Federation - Exemplary Program award

JOB & SALARY OUTLOOK

The Institute for the Culinary Arts is proud to offer a variety of continuing education programs including workshops, pairing studios, chef-led travel experiences, youth camps and team-building programs.

Visit the Continuing Education Culinary Courses page to view and register for upcoming workshops.

Workshops

  • Faculty and industry professionals offer classes in basic culinary skills, advanced culinary techniques and culinary specialties. These classes are designed for nonprofessionals but teach the same time-tested techniques that professionals learn.
  • Typical class size is 16 students. All classes must meet minimum enrollment levels by seven days prior to session date or they will be canceled.

Travel Experiences

  • ​Travel with our faculty to culinary hot spots around the globe and engage in immersive, hands-on experiences in destinations ranging from Kansas City to Ireland.

Youth Camps

  • Chef-led, technique-driven, hands-on camps for young people.
  • Cooks from ages 8-18 can learn fundamental cookery, baking skills and even operate a live restaurant in single or multiple-day workshops.

Team-Building Workshops 

  • Hands-on workshops for teams of all types.
  • Develop skills, relationships and impactful professional experiences, through cookery-centered sessions focusing on communications, mindfulness, collaboration, goal-setting and self-evaluation.

For questions about our continuing education programs, please reach out to the team at chhce@mccneb.edu.

Overview

Strengthening Leaders. Together.

The Applied Leadership Academy is built for restaurant and foodservice professionals seeking the hands-on, collaborative experiences necessary to improve team performance and enhance well-being.

The ALA meets once a month to learn about a leadership topic, and then engages with that topic in a measured, results-focused structure to improve themselves and their operation.

ALA Information Request Form

The American Sages Project celebrates stalwarts of American Regional Cuisine by integrating their work into our curriculum.

View our American Sage Spotlights

Local Flavor has been brought to you as part of MCC's Institute for the Culinary Arts. Chef-instructor Oystein Solberg brings professional-level cooking instruction into Omaha homes and kitchens. With an array of local ingredients from the MCC Horticulture gardens and eastern Nebraska/western Iowa growers and producers, chef Oystein takes home cooks on an exploratory journey from prepping to plating.

Chef-instructor Oystein Solberg

Oystein Solberg

After attending a four-year culinary school in Norway, Oystein Solberg started working his way through Norway. With several years behind the stoves of various Norwegian kitchens, he ended up at the Norwegian Embassy in France. He met a girl from Omaha and followed her to the United States where he eventually found himself at the stoves at the Institute for the Culinary Arts at Metropolitan Community College where he is a faculty member. For Local Flavor, chef Oystein creates the recipes and plating for each episode with the goal of bringing a higher level of cooking expertise to the home cook with a focus on using ingredients readily available in the local region.

The Metropolitan Utilities District culinary theatre

MUD Demonstration Kitchen

Local Flavor was filmed in the Metropolitan Utilities District culinary theatre. This kitchen was part of the state-of-the-art Institute of the Culinary Arts building built on MCC's Fort Omaha Campus in 2009. The kitchen has been remodeled and is used for credit and noncredit classes as well as workshops and professional development for the industry.

Watch Local Flavor

There are many episodes to wet your culinary appetite on our MCC YouTube channel.
Watch episodes of Local Flavor

Dean's Office

Associate Dean of Culinary, Hospitality,and Horticulture: Brian O'Malley, 531-622-2615
Associate: Ingrid Armstead, 531-622-2355

Faculty

Instructor: Lauren Balak, 531-622-2556
Instructor: Doug Chrisman, 531-622-2578
Instructor: Cathy Curtis, 531-622-2512
Instructor: James Davis, 531-622-2513
Instructor: Chase Grove, 531-622-2467
Instructor: Oystein Solberg, 531-622-2509

Outreach and Tours

If you are looking for more program information or tours contact:
Outreach Specialist: Emma Helwig, 531-622-2589

Advising Team

Amy Holtmeier, 531-622-2378
Stefanie Mercer, 531-622-2686 or Text 402-401- 4439

Find quarter class schedule

Questions or further information:
Derek Peterson - Hospitality Manager - 531-622-2551
Tyler Myers - Service Coordinator for Institute of Culinary Arts - 531-622-2621
Eric Yarwood - Coordinator of Special Events - 531-622-2326