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Culinary Schools in Boston (2026-27)

By · Reviewed November 10, 2026 · Editorial policy

There are three culinary schools in Boston and Cambridge, plus three community and technical colleges in Greater Boston and four non-credit job-training programs. The lowest-cost credit option in the city is Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, which charges Massachusetts residents $289 a credit in 2026-27, or $8,670 for a full-time year of 30 credits (our arithmetic); if you qualify for the state’s MassEducate program, tuition and fees are $0. No Boston-area program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation (ACF): the only ACF-accredited program in Massachusetts is at Holyoke Community College, in western Massachusetts.

We built this page school by school in November 2026, checking each school’s program pages, its published 2026-27 tuition and fees, and the ACF’s list of accredited programs. Where a college publishes only a per-credit rate, we multiplied it out; those totals are marked “our arithmetic” or “about”. Knives, uniforms and books are extra unless we say otherwise. This page covers career training; recreational cooking classes and corporate team-building courses are not covered. For every program in the state, see our Massachusetts culinary schools page.

Culinary programs in and near Boston
School Campus Programs (credential) 2026-27 cost ACF status
Bunker Hill Community College Charlestown, Boston Culinary Arts A.S.; Baking and Pastry Certificate $289 per credit (MA residents), $495 (non-residents); $0 tuition and fees with MassEducate if you qualify Not accredited
Boston University Metropolitan College BU, Boston Professional Culinary Arts Program, 14-week certificate (noncredit or 8 credits); Professional Pastry Arts Program $15,900 (culinary); pastry price not published Not accredited
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Culinary and Pastry Certificates (16 weeks); Professional Chef’s and Professional Pastry programs (37 weeks) $16,640 (certificate); $32,015 (professional), all-in; no federal aid Not accredited
Massasoit Community College Brockton Culinary Arts AAS; Pastry Certificate $233 per credit (MA residents); certificate about $6,757 Not accredited
Middlesex Community College Campus not confirmed Culinary Arts associate degree and certificate Not verified Not accredited
Southeastern Technical Institute South Easton Evening Culinary Arts (non-degree) Free to those who qualify for a state grant Not accredited
Community Servings, NECAT, Pine Street Inn, BEST Hospitality Training (non-credit) Jamaica Plain, South End and other Boston sites Job training and pre-apprenticeships Free (Community Servings and NECAT); others not published Not applicable

Culinary schools in Boston and Cambridge

Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown

Bunker Hill, at 250 New Rutherford Avenue in Charlestown, is the only public college in Boston with a culinary degree. It offers a Culinary Arts A.S., taught in an operational kitchen, and a Baking and Pastry Certificate covering pastry and bread-baking. For Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, Massachusetts residents pay $289 a credit (tuition, course fees, technology and a books fee) and non-residents $495; some courses add a $53-a-credit high-cost fee. Bunker Hill does not publish the credit totals on the pages we read. A third-party listing puts the A.S. at 62 credits and the certificate at 29, which would come to about $17,918 and $8,381 at the resident rate (our arithmetic); confirm the totals with the college.

Who it suits: Boston residents who want a degree or certificate for the least money, especially if MassEducate covers them.

Boston University: Professional Culinary Arts Program

BU’s Metropolitan College has run this program since 1989, when it was founded by Rebecca Alssid, Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. It runs 14 weeks, Monday to Thursday from 10 am to 6 pm, plus required food and wine events, and leads to a Certificate in the Culinary Arts from Boston University. It costs $15,900 and can be taken noncredit or for 8 credits that can count toward BU’s MA in Gastronomy. BU also runs a 14-week Professional Pastry Arts Program; no price or dates were posted when we checked.

Who it suits: career changers who want a short, intensive course with a university name on the certificate.

Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

CSCA, at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, is a private school with four programs. The Culinary and Pastry Certificates run 16 weeks (over 300 hours) for $16,640; the Professional Chef’s and Professional Pastry programs run 37 weeks (over 740 hours, with two eight-hour lab days a week) for $32,015. Both totals include tuition, equipment, materials, textbooks, ServSafe and the application fee. CSCA says it is not a Title IV school, so federal grants and loans cannot be used. January 2027 programs begin January 25, 2027, and the May certificates on May 10, 2027.

Who it suits: people who want the most hands-on hours of the Boston options and can pay without federal aid.

Community and technical colleges in Greater Boston

Massasoit Community College, Brockton

Massasoit offers a Culinary Arts AAS, with at least fifteen culinary courses and 240 hours of fieldwork, and a Pastry Certificate of at least 29 credits. Its 2026-27 rate is $233 a credit for Massachusetts residents and $439 for non-residents, so the certificate comes to about $6,757 (our arithmetic). The AAS credit total is not clear on Massasoit’s pages. As a Massachusetts community college, Massasoit is also covered by MassEducate for eligible students.

Middlesex Community College

Middlesex lists a Culinary Arts associate degree and certificate. We could not confirm which campus hosts the program or what it costs, so check with the college.

Southeastern Technical Institute, South Easton

Southeastern Tech, at 250 Foundry Street, runs an evening Culinary Arts program, Monday to Thursday from 4:00 to 9:30 PM, ending with a 25-hour externship, with OSHA 10, ServSafe Food Manager and food allergen certifications. It is free to those who qualify through a Massachusetts Career Technical Initiative grant through MassHire Greater Brockton. It suits working adults who need evening classes.

What culinary school costs in Boston

MassEducate covers all course-related tuition and fees for eligible courses at Massachusetts community colleges, including Bunker Hill and Massasoit, and can add up to $1,200 a year toward books and supplies depending on income. To qualify you need no prior bachelor’s degree, at least one year living in Massachusetts by the start of the term, a high school diploma or equivalent, a FAFSA or MASFA each year, and at least six credits a semester in an approved associate or certificate program. Check the current MassEducate rules before you count on it; the page we read still showed the 2024-2025 aid form. BU and CSCA are private, so their prices are the same for everyone, and CSCA’s include equipment.

HUD’s FY2026 Fair Market Rent (October 2025 to September 2026) for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metro area is $2,359 a month for a studio and $2,476 for a one-bedroom. Close to campus it is higher: HUD’s Small Area estimate for ZIP 02129 (Charlestown, near Bunker Hill) is $3,220 for a studio, and HUD’s Small Area estimate for ZIP 02140 (near CSCA) is $2,930. These are HUD benchmarks, not what you will pay. At the metro rate a year in a studio is about $28,308 (our arithmetic), more than three full-time years at Bunker Hill’s resident rate, so rent, not tuition, is most students’ biggest cost.

Free and low-cost culinary training in Boston

Community Servings Teaching Kitchen, at 179 Amory Street in Jamaica Plain near the Stony Brook T station, is a paid culinary training and internship program: a culinary course, a prep cook internship and job-readiness support, with tuition and materials free. It is for adults facing barriers to employment, including career changers and people returning to work. New sessions start every six weeks, and trainees earn ServSafe Food Handler and Allergen Awareness certifications.

NECAT (New England Center for Arts & Technology), at 23 Bradston Street in the South End, runs a 14-week, tuition-free culinary training program for adults facing barriers to employment, with ServSafe certification; a 12-week version runs at the East Boston YMCA. The next cohort starts January 4, 2027. NECAT reports that 56% of graduates find jobs, at an average $21.30 an hour.

Pine Street Inn’s iCater trains food-service workers in a high-volume commercial kitchen and includes ServSafe certification.

BEST Hospitality Training, whose labor partner is the hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 26, lists a Culinary Pre-Apprenticeship and a Culinary Pre-Apprenticeship & Apprenticeship Program, at 52 Church Street and in the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. Length, cost and eligibility are not published on its site, so contact BEST directly.

Culinary jobs and pay in Boston

The Boston metro area employs about 22,900 restaurant cooks. For hotel kitchens, BEST’s pre-apprenticeship, run with UNITE HERE Local 26 and with a training site inside the Omni Boston Hotel, is the local route into union jobs; the nonprofits above place graduates in restaurant and food-service jobs.

Job Jobs in the metro area Median pay U.S. median
Restaurant cooks 22,900 $45,830 $37,390
Bakers 4,380 $38,570 $37,160
Chefs and head cooks 4,430 $72,470 $62,470
Food service managers 3,280 $92,650 $69,390

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area.

Closed schools you may still see listed

  • Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston (215 First Street, Cambridge): opened in 2007 and closed in 2017, when all U.S. Le Cordon Bleu campuses shut.
  • Newbury College (Brookline): closed in 2019. It had a hospitality management school but no culinary program.

Boston culinary school FAQs

What culinary schools are in Boston?

Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown (Culinary Arts A.S. and a Baking and Pastry Certificate), Boston University’s 14-week culinary and pastry programs, and the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Massasoit, Middlesex and Southeastern Tech are in Greater Boston.

How much does culinary school cost in Boston?

$0 in tuition and fees at Bunker Hill if you qualify for MassEducate; otherwise $289 a credit for residents. BU’s program is $15,900 and CSCA’s are $16,640 or $32,015.

Is there free culinary training in Boston?

Yes. Community Servings and NECAT are tuition-free, Southeastern Tech’s evening program is free to those who qualify, and MassEducate can cover community-college tuition and fees.

Are any culinary schools in Boston ACF-accredited?

No. The only ACF-accredited program in Massachusetts is Holyoke Community College’s associate degree in culinary arts.

Are there cooking schools in Boston?

For careers, yes: the schools and programs above. Recreational cooking classes and corporate team-building courses are not covered on this site.

Is Le Cordon Bleu still in Boston?

No. Its campus at 215 First Street in Cambridge closed in 2017, and Le Cordon Bleu has had no U.S. campuses since.

Nearby and online options

Sources

What changed on this page

  • November 2026: new city guide.