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Culinary Schools in Las Vegas (2026-27)

By · Reviewed November 10, 2026 · Editorial policy

There are three programs to know about if you are looking at culinary schools in Las Vegas, and two of them teach cooking hands-on: the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, both in North Las Vegas. The lowest-cost college credential is CSN’s 33-credit Pastry Arts certificate, about $5,502.75 for Nevada residents in 2026-27 (our arithmetic), while the Culinary Academy’s non-credit courses run $1,200 to $3,800 and are free for eligible union members. CSN’s Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts and Food & Beverage Management associate degrees and its Culinary Arts bachelor’s are the only ACF-accredited programs in the metro, approved through June 2030.

We built this page school by school in November 2026, from each school’s own program, tuition and admissions pages and the American Culinary Federation’s list of accredited programs. Prices are the published 2026-27 rates; where a school gives a per-credit rate rather than a program total, we multiplied it out and marked the result “our arithmetic” or “about”. UNLV’s hospitality degree is included because people search for it, but it is a management degree, not cooking school. For Reno and the rest of the state, see our Nevada culinary schools page.

Culinary programs in and near Las Vegas

School Campus Programs (credential) 2026-27 cost ACF status
College of Southern Nevada North Las Vegas Campus, 3200 E Cheyenne Ave Culinary Arts AAS; Pastry Arts AAS; Food & Beverage Management associate; Culinary Arts BAS; Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts certificates $136.25 per credit plus $30.50 per credit in fees (residents); Pastry Arts certificate about $5,502.75 Approved through June 2030 (all four degrees)
Culinary Academy of Las Vegas 710 W Lake Mead Blvd, North Las Vegas Professional Cook (360 hours); Baker’s Helper (165 hours); Kitchen Steward (70 hours); non-credit certificates $3,800; $2,000; $1,200. Free for eligible Local 226 and Local 165 members Not ACF-accredited
UNLV Harrah College of Hospitality Main campus, Las Vegas BS Hospitality Management (restaurant management concentration) $312.75 per credit; about $37,530 for 120 credits (residents) Not on the ACF list (management, not cooking)

Where to train as a cook or pastry chef in Las Vegas

College of Southern Nevada: Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts and Food & Beverage Management

CSN’s Department of Hospitality Management teaches culinary and pastry on its North Las Vegas Campus at 3200 East Cheyenne Avenue, not on the Strip. Students train in Russell’s Restaurant, the campus training restaurant in the C Building, which serves lunch Tuesday to Thursday and dinner on Thursdays during the semester, by reservation.

  • Credentials: Culinary Arts AAS, Pastry Arts AAS, a Food and Beverage Management associate degree, Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts certificates, a short Fundamentals of Culinary Arts skills certificate, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Culinary Arts.
  • ACF: the three associate degrees and the BAS are all approved through June 2030. The BAS is the only hands-on culinary bachelor’s degree in Nevada.
  • Cost: $136.25 per credit plus $30.50 per credit in fees for residents. Lab course fees, knives and uniforms are extra.
  • Suits: anyone who wants a college credential, ACF accreditation, access to federal financial aid, or a route to a bachelor’s degree.

Culinary Academy of Las Vegas: union and employer training

The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas (CALV) is a non-profit training trust run by Culinary Union Local 226, Bartenders Union Local 165 and Las Vegas hospitality employers, founded in 1993. It trains people for kitchen jobs in the resorts in weeks rather than years. Its programs are licensed by the Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education, but they carry no college credit and no ACF accreditation.

  • Programs: Professional Cook, 360 hours over 12 weeks ($3,800); Baker’s Helper, 165 hours over 11 weeks ($2,000); Kitchen Steward, 70 hours over two weeks ($1,200); and KS PLUS, a four-week stewarding course with English support ($1,600). New classes start every month.
  • Entry: age 17 or older, a driver’s license or state ID, a Social Security card, a Food Handler Safety Training card and the ability to communicate in English. No high school diploma or GED is required.
  • Paying for it: CALV does not take federal financial aid (Title IV). It offers tuition assistance to qualifying students, training is free for eligible union members, and there is no charge for staff of its employer partners.
  • What the certificate is worth: CALV says its certificate counts as one full year of work experience with its 50 employer partners.
  • Suits: people who want a resort kitchen job quickly and cheaply, and union members who can train at no cost.

UNLV: Hospitality Management (management, not cooking)

UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality offers a BS in Hospitality Management with an Innovative Restaurant Management concentration. It is a 120-credit management degree with 1,000 hours of required industry work, not a kitchen program. CSN culinary graduates can transfer into it on a published transfer plan. Registration is $312.75 per credit for Nevada residents, about $37,530 for 120 credits (our arithmetic), and non-residents pay $20,189 a year more in tuition. It suits students aiming at restaurant, food and beverage or casino-hospitality management.

What culinary school costs in Las Vegas

At CSN, Nevada residents pay $136.25 per credit for lower-division courses and $226.00 for upper-division (bachelor’s-level) courses, plus $30.50 per credit in fees. Students who do not qualify as Nevada residents pay an extra $4,775 per full-time semester. That puts the 33-credit Pastry Arts certificate at about $5,502.75 for residents and about $15,052.75 for non-residents, and an associate degree at an illustrative 60 credits at about $10,005 for residents (our arithmetic; CSN’s 2026-27 credit totals for each degree were not available). Expect $95 to $150 in fees for each lab course, plus knives and uniforms.

The Culinary Academy’s prices are program totals: $1,200 to $3,800 depending on the course, before any tuition assistance.

Housing is the larger cost. HUD’s FY2026 Fair Market Rent (October 2025 to September 2026) for the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas metro is $1,333 a month for a studio and $1,478 for a one-bedroom. A year in a one-bedroom at that rate is about $17,736 (our arithmetic), roughly three times CSN’s resident pastry certificate. CALV’s Professional Cook course costs about the same as 2.6 months of one-bedroom rent.

Free and low-cost culinary training in Las Vegas

The main free route is the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas. The Culinary Union says its members “have access to training as part of their negotiated benefit package”, and that eligible members “must be employed by a participating property and meet training benefit requirements”. If you already work at a union property, ask your shop steward or the union about the training benefit before paying for a course. Non-members can apply for CALV’s tuition assistance; the qualifying criteria are not published on its program page.

The City of Las Vegas also opened Stew’s Stix Café at the Historic Westside School in October 2026 as a small workforce training kitchen; it has not published eligibility, cost or length.

Culinary jobs and pay in Las Vegas

Casino resorts dominate kitchen hiring. The Culinary Union says it and Bartenders Local 165 represent 60,000 workers, including cooks and kitchen workers, at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas (and in Reno). Restaurant cooks in the metro earn a little more than the national median; chefs and head cooks earn about the national figure.

Job Jobs in the metro area Median pay U.S. median
Restaurant cooks 22,530 $38,800 $37,390
Bakers 1,620 $39,890 $37,160
Chefs and head cooks 3,430 $62,380 $62,470
Food service managers 3,590 $65,420 $69,390

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV metropolitan area.

Closed schools you may still see listed

  • Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas (Center Crossing Road): stopped enrolling in January 2016 and closed in 2017, when the U.S. Le Cordon Bleu schools finished teaching out.
  • The Art Institute of Las Vegas (Henderson), home of the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Las Vegas: closed in December 2019 after the Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education withdrew its approval. It closed four years before the rest of the Art Institutes chain.

Las Vegas culinary school FAQs

Are there catering training courses in Las Vegas?

We found no dedicated catering course in Las Vegas. The closest options are CSN’s Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Management degrees and the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas’s 12-week Professional Cook course, which trains prep, pantry and line cooks for resort kitchens. Ask either school whether a course includes banquet or catering work.

How much does culinary school cost in Las Vegas?

CSN’s 33-credit Pastry Arts certificate is about $5,502.75 for Nevada residents (our arithmetic). The Culinary Academy charges $3,800 for Professional Cook, $2,000 for Baker’s Helper and $1,200 for Kitchen Steward, and is free for eligible union members.

Are there pastry schools in Las Vegas?

Yes. CSN offers an ACF-accredited Pastry Arts AAS and a shorter Pastry Arts certificate, and the Culinary Academy runs an 11-week, 165-hour Baker’s Helper course.

What is the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas?

It is a non-profit training school in North Las Vegas run by the Culinary and Bartenders unions with Las Vegas hospitality employers. Courses last two to 12 weeks, start monthly and are free for eligible union members at participating properties; they do not qualify for federal aid.

Which Las Vegas culinary school is ACF-accredited?

Only CSN. Its Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts and Food & Beverage Management associate degrees and its Culinary Arts BAS are approved by the American Culinary Federation through June 2030.

Is Le Cordon Bleu still open in Las Vegas?

No. Le Cordon Bleu Las Vegas stopped enrolling in January 2016 and closed in 2017, and the Art Institute of Las Vegas closed in December 2019. No private degree-granting culinary school remains in the metro.

Nearby and online options

The nearest other college culinary program is Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, about 440 miles away; see our Nevada page. Looking for Las Vegas, New Mexico? See our New Mexico page. If you cannot attend in person, compare online culinary programs, read our guide to what culinary school costs, or see baking and pastry programs in Nevada. Our city guides cover other major US cities.

Sources

What changed on this page

  • November 2026: new city guide.