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Culinary Schools in St. Louis (2026-27)

By · Reviewed November 10, 2026 · Editorial policy

There are four colleges that teach culinary arts for credit among the culinary schools in St. Louis and its suburbs: St. Louis Community College (STLCC) at Forest Park, St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, Jefferson College in Hillsboro and Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) in Belleville, Illinois. The lowest-cost option for St. Louis City and County residents is STLCC, at $127 a credit in 2026-27 with fees included, about $8,255 for its 65-credit associate degree. STLCC’s Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry Arts and Hospitality Management degrees are the only programs in the metro accredited by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), all through June 2028.

We built this guide school by school in November 2026 from each college’s own program pages, their published 2026-27 tuition and the ACF’s accredited-program list. Where a college publishes a per-credit or annual rate, we multiplied it out; those totals say “about” or “our arithmetic”. For programs elsewhere in the state, see our guide to culinary schools in Missouri, and for the Illinois side of the metro, our Illinois culinary schools page.

Culinary programs in and near St. Louis

School Campus Programs (credential) 2026-27 cost ACF status
St. Louis Community College Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave. Culinary Arts AAS (65 credits) $127 a credit in-district; about $8,255 in-district, $11,440 out-of-district, $15,470 out-of-state Exemplary through June 2028
St. Louis Community College Forest Park, 5600 Oakland Ave. Baking and Pastry Arts AAS (65 credits) Same as culinary AAS Exemplary through June 2028
St. Louis Community College Forest Park and online Hospitality Management AAS (62–65 credits) $127 a credit in-district Exemplary through June 2028
St. Charles Community College Dardenne Creek Campus, Cottleville Culinary degree with embedded certificates $216 a credit in-district for culinary courses Not accredited
Jefferson College Hillsboro Culinary Arts AAS (65 credits); certificates (24 and 48 credits) $185–$250 a credit in-district, plus $28 a credit book rental Not accredited
Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL Culinary Arts and Food Management AAS; Baking and Pastry AAS; certificates $4,620 a year in-district; $7,470 out-of-district; $7,350 out-of-state Not accredited

Where to train as a cook in St. Louis

St. Louis Community College at Forest Park

STLCC teaches culinary arts, baking and pastry, and hospitality at the Jack E. Miller Hospitality Center on its Forest Park campus, 5600 Oakland Ave., in the city’s central corridor. The Culinary Arts AAS and the Baking and Pastry Arts AAS each take 65 credits and are taught in full at Forest Park; the Hospitality Management AAS takes 62 to 65 credits, at Forest Park or online. The baking capstone prepares students for the ACF Certified Pastry Culinarian, Retail Bakers of America Certified Journey Baker and ServSafe Manager credentials.

All three degrees are ACF-accredited at the Exemplary level through June 2028, the strongest credential in the metro. Culinary students cook capstone meals in the center’s dining room, which is open to the public: lunch is $15 and dinner $20, a good way to see the program before you apply. STLCC suits St. Louis City and County residents who want an accredited culinary or baking degree at the lowest price in the region.

St. Charles Community College

St. Charles Community College runs its culinary program at the Field to Table Institute on its Dardenne Creek Campus in Cottleville, in St. Charles County. The degree has certificates built in, so you can stop with a shorter credential along the way. We could not confirm the degree’s credit total, so we have not given a program price. Culinary courses cost $216 a credit for St. Charles County residents in 2026-27, plus a $10-a-credit technology fee, and general-education courses cost less. The program is not ACF-accredited. It suits St. Charles County residents who would rather not commute into the city.

Jefferson College

Jefferson College in Hillsboro, in Jefferson County south of the city, offers a 65-credit Culinary Arts AAS and two certificates, of 24 and 48 credits. The 2026-27 plan pairs four Culinary Arts courses and ServSafe sanitation with hospitality management, cost control, supervision and nutrition, plus business and management courses, so it suits people who want to run a kitchen as well as cook in one. High-school students in Jefferson College’s area technical school can continue into the third and fourth semesters of its late-afternoon culinary program. In-district tuition is $185 to $250 a credit depending on the course tier, plus $28 a credit for book rental; the college does not say which tier culinary courses fall in, so ask for a program estimate. Not ACF-accredited.

Southwestern Illinois College

SWIC in Belleville serves the Illinois side of the metro with a Culinary Arts and Food Management AAS, a Baking and Pastry AAS and four certificates: baking and pastry, culinary arts, food service, and food service and management. Graduates who already hold an accredited associate or bachelor’s degree can earn either AAS with at least 27 credits of program courses. Full-time 2026-27 tuition and fees are $4,620 a year in-district, $7,470 out-of-district and $7,350 out-of-state, plus $2,400 a year for books and supplies. Missouri residents should confirm their rate with SWIC before comparing it with STLCC. SWIC is not ACF-accredited.

What culinary school costs in St. Louis

Residency matters more than distance here. STLCC’s 2026-27 rates, with technology, activity and service fees built in, are $127 a credit in-district (St. Louis City, St. Louis County and parts of Franklin and Jefferson counties), $176 out-of-district and $238 out-of-state. For the 65-credit AAS that is about $8,255, $11,440 and $15,470 (our arithmetic), before knives, uniforms and books. St. Charles County residents pay in-district rates at St. Charles Community College and Jefferson County residents at Jefferson College, while Illinois residents in SWIC’s district pay $4,620 a year.

HUD’s FY2026 Fair Market Rent (October 2025 to September 2026) for the St. Louis metro is $955 a month for a studio and $995 for a one-bedroom. A one-bedroom at that rent would take about 32% of a restaurant cook’s median monthly pay in the metro (our arithmetic), a lower share than in Indianapolis or Baton Rouge. A student working kitchen shifts part-time will still need shared housing or family help, but St. Louis is one of the more affordable places to study cooking. Our culinary school cost guide compares these prices with the rest of the country.

Free and low-cost culinary training in St. Louis

Propel Kitchens Production Cook Registered Apprenticeship. Propel Kitchens, a nonprofit that helps Black and brown communities build food service careers, works from a 4,500-square-foot commercial kitchen in the Carter Commons development in Pagedale. St. Louis Public Radio reported that its Production Cook Registered Apprenticeship with SLATE, the City of St. Louis’s workforce agency, was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. 6, 2026. It lasts a year, with 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning, and pay starts at $15.50 an hour and rises to $17.50. No experience is required; applicants must be 18 or older with a high-school diploma or GED.

Paraquad Bloom Culinary Training Program. Paraquad, at 5240 Oakland Ave., a few blocks from STLCC Forest Park, runs a 15-week culinary training program for adults with disabilities, taught by a certified culinary instructor. Students earn ServSafe certification and can take an optional paid internship. Applicants need a high-school diploma or GED, and space is limited. Paraquad does not state a cost, so ask when you apply.

Culinary jobs and pay in St. Louis

The metro has about 12,970 restaurant cooks and 1,030 chefs and head cooks. Chefs and head cooks here earn more than the national median, and cooks earn slightly more, while food service managers earn a little less.

Job Jobs in the metro area Median pay U.S. median
Restaurant cooks 12,970 $37,690 $37,390
Bakers 2,000 $35,830 $37,160
Chefs and head cooks 1,030 $64,480 $62,470
Food service managers 1,260 $64,460 $69,390

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area.

Closed schools you may still see listed

  • L’École Culinaire (St. Louis) closed with its parent, Vatterott College, on December 17, 2018.
  • Le Cordon Bleu: all its US schools stopped enrolling new students in January 2016 and closed by 2017.
  • The Art Institutes: we found no record of an Art Institute campus in St. Louis, so treat any culinary listing for one with suspicion.

St. Louis culinary school FAQs

What culinary schools are in St. Louis?

St. Louis Community College at Forest Park offers ACF-accredited degrees in culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality management. In the suburbs, St. Charles Community College and Jefferson College teach culinary arts, and Southwestern Illinois College covers the Illinois side.

How much does culinary school cost in St. Louis?

At STLCC, in-district students pay $127 a credit in 2026-27, about $8,255 for the 65-credit AAS; out-of-district students pay about $11,440 and out-of-state students about $15,470. SWIC charges $4,620 a year in-district.

Is there an ACF-accredited culinary school in St. Louis?

Yes. STLCC’s Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry Arts and Hospitality Management degrees are accredited at the Exemplary level through June 2028. East Central College in Union is also accredited, but it is outside the metro.

Is L’École Culinaire in St. Louis still open?

No. It closed with Vatterott College on December 17, 2018.

Is there a Le Cordon Bleu in St. Louis?

No. All US Le Cordon Bleu schools stopped enrolling in January 2016 and closed by 2017.

Can I get paid to train as a cook in St. Louis?

Yes. The Propel Kitchens Production Cook Registered Apprenticeship with SLATE pays $15.50 to $17.50 an hour for a year of on-the-job training, with no experience required.

Nearby and online options

East Central College in Union has an ACF-accredited culinary degree but is outside the metro; it and Missouri’s other programs are on our Missouri culinary schools page, and Illinois programs beyond SWIC are on our Illinois page. If you are willing to move, see our guide to culinary schools in Chicago. For pastry, compare baking and pastry programs in Missouri; to study from home, see online culinary programs; and for national prices, read what culinary school costs. Our city guides cover other major US cities.

Sources

What changed on this page

  • November 2026: new city guide.