#CookingTomorrow

Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma

For chefs of the future with a vision of the future, filled with creativity and innovative ideas, who want to work in gastronomy.

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Introduction to the program

The gastronomy sector is changing and evolving at an unstoppable pace.
New market trends, respect for the product, entrepreneurship, restaurant leadership, a forward-thinking outlook and our responsible impact on sustainability are just some of the subjects that make up the DNA of the program that prepares the next generation of budding chefs.

There are many reasons why people from around the world decide to transform their lives by taking the Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma, whether they are starting their career in cooking, re-training after years of working in the restaurant industry, or changing sectors to become a chef or entrepreneur.

The Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma is probably the most up-to-date and impactful cooking program in the world, and offers our students the chance to undergo a radical transformation. Not just because of the wealth of knowledge about the product, the technology or the context that they acquire, but also because creativity and culinary innovation are the cornerstones upon which our entire educational model is built. In just a few weeks, students are able to create things no one has ever created before.

The program fosters the development of lateral skills, such as managing oneself, others and businesses. It teaches them how to lead, communicate and use storytelling to create memorable dining experiences. It enhances students’ social and professional attitudes in order to strengthen their leadership in the kitchen. And all of this is taught through an evolutionary and cross-disciplinary methodology that includes challenges that put our students to the test.

It is an intensive and focused program that prepares you to enter the professional world after just eight months of classes and three or six months of supervised restaurant placements. It is an educational experience as part of the CIB’s characteristic international ecosystem in the city of Barcelona, one of the gastronomic capitals of the world and the number one choice to study cooking.

Duration 1,390 hours (11 months) + 3-month work placement (optional)

Language Spanish and English

Timetable Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

May 2026 € 26,620

September 2026 € 26,620

January 2027 € 23,958

15% financial support for early enrollment until March 06th

Schedule a call Apply for admission

1,390 hours to become a chef

IN 1 YEAR

YOU'LL BE A CHEF

The CIB is intense, and has been designed so that in just one year you can enter the job market with a very competitive advantage.

+70

INDUSTRY LEADERS

We bring in specialized professionals to teach you about their craft.

+500

CLASSES

Each class poses a specific learning objective.

+95%

INTERNATIONAL

Students from around the world. Gain a multicultural experience, just as you will in the real world.

BARCELONA

GASTRONOMIC CAPITAL

Barcelona is a gastronomic capital and known to be one of the best cities for studying cooking.

6

CHALLENGES

Our challenges put you to the test and evaluate your knowledge without having to sit an exam.

+20

WORKSHOPS

Whether it's field trips or workshops, these sessions help you to enhance your skills, attitudes and possibilities.

+27

AVERAGE AGE

Most of our students are adults. People with clear goals.

Program contents
20 subjects with 500+ sessions

The program's content is divided into subjects that impact the four pillars of our methodology: knowledge, skills, attitude and possibility.
Each subject also includes a large number of classes that enhance the cross-disciplinary skills you will gain on this program.

Students learning about ingredients in the kitchen

Product

Knowledge of raw ingredients You will learn about the main products involved in cooking as the basis for developing your own dishes. You'll discover wild and cultivated vegetables, mushrooms, seaweed, oils, vinegars, spices, sweeteners, meats, fish, eggs, pulses, nuts and dried fruits, just to name a few.

Student performing sensory analysis blindfolded

Sensory analysis

Organoleptic properties of food You will understand and master the physiological principles and application of the sensory organs based on the organoleptic properties of different foods, in order to generate added culinary value. You'll sample products and learn how to create sensory experiences.

Instructor explaining gut microbiota

Scientific principles

The physics and chemistry of food You will understand what food can provide us with and its impact on our cells, particularly on our intestinal microbiota. You will learn the difference between food and nutrition, and study all types of nutrients, allergies and intolerances.

Student and teacher working on culinary techniques

Technology

Culinary techniques You will understand the main transformation processes of different foods and their evolution. These processes include aging, marinating, smoking, curing, molecular cuisine and vacuum packing, as well as fermented and elaborated products such as wines, alcohols, dairy products and bread.

Demonstration of molecular cuisine and fermentation

Culinary Trends

Healthy, Molecular cuisine, Pastry and, Fire & Low temperature In these classes you will see and practice the four areas of CIB specialization: Sweet cooking, fire and low-temperature cooking, molecular cooking and integrative and healthy cooking. You will understand the importance of each speciality and see some of the related processes.

Students practicing applied cooking techniques

Applied technology

Culinary practice You will learn the cooking techniques you can apply to each product. From the different ways to cut vegetables and prepare stock, to making fresh bases, sauces and binders, soups and creams, boiling and steaming, frying, stews, oven cooking, grilling, ways to cook pasta, cereals, pulses, eggs and rice, offal and sweet cooking.

Lecture on the gastronomic future

The future of cooking

21st century perspectives These are windows into possible futures provided by expert guests, whether from a technological, product or contextual point of view. They will give you a great competitive advantage.

Class on food management and workplace hygiene

Framework

Management, Food safety and workplace hygiene You will learn about the legal requirements of a professional kitchen, the necessary hygienic quality, the foodborne bacteria and toxi-infections and protocols on how to avoid them. You will also learn the theory behind product costing and how to manage and organize a kitchen, even in times of crisis.

Students working on creative dynamics

Creativity and Innovation

Developing lateral skills In these classes, you will nurture and develop those skills that are directly related to creativity and innovation. On the Chef Diploma, particular focus is placed on acquiring creative methodologies and developing lateral thinking skills.

Exercise in leadership and teamwork

Team management

Teamwork and team leadership Today's professional kitchens need people who know how to coordinate and respect each other; never before has teamwork been so important. In these classes, you learn how the equipment works and how to operate it efficiently.

Session with inspiring testimonials in class

Experiences

Real-world testimonies In these classes, we hear stories about leadership and first-person accounts of remarkable and extraordinary life journeys.

CIB stage creativity activities

CIB Specials

Sessions that are designed to empower students and help them combat stage fright, relate to others, gain awareness and be ready for future paradigm shifts. These surprise sessions happen when you least expect them.

Field work

Experience-based training trips These experiences, usually held outside the CIB, offer students a first-hand look at what others have built, made or designed in the fields of application covered on the Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma.

Challenge

Evolving, cross-disciplinary challenges Our unique assessment method. Students must overcome challenges that force them to recognize their limits and those of their team, investigate their environment and offer solutions using all the knowledge, skills and attitudes they have acquired.

Stages in restaurants

You will spend three to six months putting into practice everything you have learned as you continue to train in one of the many national and international restaurants with which the CIB has a collaboration agreement. They all adhere to educational quality criteria and your evolution and progress will be monitored.

Students cooking international dishes

Culinary landscapes

Kitchens around the world You will learn how to prepare national dishes from countries on all five continents at the hands of specialists. You will learn how to use food to communicate and express yourself.

Class on communication and food photography

Efficient communication

Color, food photography, speech and communication In these classes, you will develop skills that will help you communicate and prepare for a big world where knowing how to express yourself correctly using words, gestures and image is extremely important to get what you want.

Class on public speaking and sales techniques

Targeted communication

Seduce, convince, sell Selling is about seducing people, and we all like to be seduced. In this subject, you'll learn techniques that will help you convince others. In short, to sell not only your products, but also your ideas and your instructions.

Students in a decision-making dynamic

Decision-making

Knowing how to make decisions that minimize mistakes and risks is essential in order to avoid instability. In this subject, you'll learn and practice decision-making techniques.

Group dynamics on team leadership

Leadership

A leader is someone you follow because they inspire confidence. So, this subject will teach you how to do just that, instill trust in others so that you can effectively lead high-performing teams.

Content that goes beyond knowledge

500+ classes a year designed to transform your learning into an experience you can remember

Sessions at CIB

+500 unique classes
Evolutionary content and subjects

The subjects taught at the CIB will give you cross-disciplinary skills and do not follow a linear pattern.
Each student's learning is evolutionary and holistic. Each class lasts one hour and a half and is designed as an event that has specific teaching objectives.

Download the syllabus

1,390 hours designed to turn every day of your learning into a show.

What makes the CIB so special?

It is creativity, innovation and a forward-thinking vision

We use creativity to find solutions before others, innovation as a driving force, and we look to the future to prepare our students for the constant paradigm shifts the 21st century will undoubtedly bring.

It is multicultural and global

The CIB is a school open to the world, free from cultural, social, language or political barriers. Because working in a multicultural environment involves adding, contributing, having different opinions and achieving better results.

It is aligned with the values of today's society

Far from traditional education and from the “YES CHEF!” mentality. At the CIB, we believe that a drastic change is in order, and our mission is to train the next generation of chefs and culinary entrepreneurs to be ready for the demands of the 21st century.

We encourage entrepreneurship

The CIB won't train you to be a restaurant employee. It trains future restaurant leaders and entrepreneurs who want to transform this business through creativity and innovation.

It is not for everyone.

Being a CIBer is a way of life. It involves sharing values, being prepared for challenges that require creativity and problem-solving, working as a team, cultural diversity, innovating the market and for the paradigm shifts that the 21st century will undoubtedly bring.

We transform people

Today, knowledge is so accessible, immediate, and free. So, schools need to offer something else. Their new role is to be a springboard for growth, and the CIB is designed for just that purpose; to help our students grow and transform. #CookingTomorrow.

No exams. The point of assessment is an improvement

The challenges are our way of assessing your knowledge. They are cross-disciplinary, holistic, and evolutionary and will put your knowledge to the test whilst you're with us. They will help you get further. They are challenges that will test you.

Much more than knowledge.

The 21st century has shown us that we can access content from anywhere, at any time. But here, we train our students to use what they already know to enhance their attitudes, improve their skills and open the door to new possibilities.

Freedom of thought.

Creativity is an attitude, a way of doing things, a state of mind, and above all, it is dependent on freedom. The CIB methodology has been designed to allow students total freedom to exercise their creativity naturally, without fear of making a mistake.

Our main focus is on innovation, creativity and everything the future holds.

We see creativity as a tool for finding solutions before anyone else, we see innovation as a driving force to do things that no one has done before, and an eye on the future to become the leaders of change.

CIB Methodology

We train with disruptive learning experiences to transform people

If you don't change, you can't evolve, and teaching must do just that: it must teach you how to evolve.
As a cooking school we show our students how to improve, to question, to imagine, to seek and to unearth new possibilities.
We teach you how to set, pursue and achieve your goals, to not be afraid of making mistakes. Because only those who are willing to make mistakes are capable of doing truly wonderful things.

That's why we founded the CIB, the cooking school where anything is possible.

Discover the methodology

See if it's for you

This program is for you whether you want to start your career, you already work in cooking or you want to sidestep into something new.

I want to start my career in cooking

For people who want to start studying and enter the job market with an outstanding competitive edge.

I want to improve my abilities as a chef

For people who have already started their career in gastronomy, but want to take it to the next level.

I want to change my professional field

For people who want to step outside their comfort zone and achieve their personal and professional goals by becoming a chef.

I want to start my own business in the world of gastronomy

For ambitious, entrepreneurial individuals who want to launch and lead winning projects.

I want aninternational education

For individuals with a broad vision of the world who want an educational, international and comprehensive experience that fulfills their expectations.

For future chefs who want to change the gastronomic sector

For people with a world-wide vision who are looking for an educational, international and fulfilling experience that meets their expectations.

CIBers stories

Starting your career

Improving as a chef and reinventing yourself

Changing sectors at 30

Prices and financial support

Admission call

May 2026

€26,620

Admission call

September 2026

€26,620

Admission call

January 2027

€26,620

€23,958 -10%

Last places available with financial support until 10th July 2026

Early enrollment offer

Until 10th July 2026

Until the number of vacancies available per call is reached. Enrollements prior 10th July 2026 will be considered.
More anticipation: Better price. Enroll one year in advance and get a 15% Early Bird benefit.

Save up to


-15%


Access limited financial support until 10th July of 2026 for courses starting in September 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

  • If I am already a chef, is this program for me?

    Yes. One third of the program’s international students are chefs with experience in professional kitchens or have decided to retrain from the gastronomic and educational perspective proposed by CIB. More and more professionals are falling back in love with cooking and moving away from “traditional” culinary education.

  • Can I take the program without previous experience?

    Yes. One third of the program’s international students start their professional careers at CIB. You will share the classroom with people who are already chefs or who come from other sectors. To accelerate your learning, you can take the START program for 16 sessions free of charge.

  • If I have experience in other sectors, can I take the program?

    Yes. One third of the program’s international students come from other sectors. Our experience has shown that having a professional background outside professional kitchens complements the skills, attitudes and possibilities required by 21st-century cuisine.

  • In what language is it taught?

    Classes are taught 50% in Spanish and 50% in English. We have a real-time translation system on screens in every classroom and stage. Documentation is provided in either language and we offer free Spanish classes for our students.

    Learning is an attitude; not setting limits is too. CIB is international and we believe language should not be a barrier to people’s transformation.

  • Do I need a visa for this program?

    Only for foreign nationals (outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland) coming to study for a period longer than 90 days and who meet the following requirements:
    • Have sufficient financial means for your stay and return to your country.
    • Public or private health insurance valid in Spain.
    • Admission to an authorized educational center in Spain (such as CIB).
    • No entry ban to Spain.
    • If the stay is longer than 6 months, no criminal record and no diseases with serious public health repercussions.
    Some countries also require a visa for stays shorter than 90 days; we recommend checking your country’s official government website.

  • I am an international student—what should I do?

    If you are an EU/EEA/Swiss student: you must register your residence in Barcelona (Spain) and apply for the certificate of registration as an EU resident.

    If you are NOT an EU/EEA/Swiss student: the application is made in person at the Spanish consulate in your country of residence. You must apply for the visa, pay the fee and submit the official national visa application form by appointment. Once the documentation and requirements are validated, the consulate will notify you of the resolution (approximate processing time: one month).

  • How can I prepare before starting? What is the START program?

    If you have little or no knowledge of cooking, don’t worry: we have the START program, a free, voluntary and complementary acceleration program lasting 32 hours. It allows you to get up to speed and accelerate your learning process to improve and perfect culinary basics. We recommend it to all students.

  • What is the Airbag program?

    It is a free support program designed by and for parents who care about the well-being, safety and education of their sons and daughters. For foreign candidates under 23 years of age, CIB can establish a communication and protection plan (“AIRBAG”) with their legal guardians, including information on attendance, behavior and other relevant aspects.

  • If I am under 23, how do I apply for the Airbag program?

    CIB has the Airbag program: a protection plan for students under 23 that adopts measures to protect the student, give security to legal guardians and allow CIB to fulfill its pedagogical objectives.

  • What is the admission or enrollment process like?

    To enroll you must send us the admission form and have an online interview with a member of the admissions committee.

    CIB’s acceptance rate is 5-10% of applications received. Steps to enroll:
    1. Send a strong admission form that sets you apart.
    2. Schedule a call with an advisor.
    3. Do the online admission interview.
    4. Evaluation of your application by the admissions committee.
    5. Decision and enrollment.
    Start the process when you have the start date clear and the means to do it.

  • How do registration, payment and enrollment work?

    1. Send the admission form, contact your advisor and pass the interview.
    2. If admitted, you will have 10 days to secure your place by paying the pre-enrollment fee (€500).
    3. Then you will have 20 more days to pay the enrollment fee of 25% of the course amount (minus the pre-enrollment).
    4. The remaining 75% can be paid in the modality that best suits you and you can take advantage of early-payment or early-enrollment aid.
    In all cases, to start the course the total payment must be completed no later than 60 days before the academic start date.

  • What is the Early Enrollment Offer (OMA)?

    OMA is a support plan of 10% to 15% discount on the total course price: the earlier you enroll, the better the price.

    Timing: enrolling 300 days or more in advance gets you 15%, and 180 days or more gets you 10%.
    Cumulative: can be combined with the 6% early-payment aid.
    Limited aid: the number of aids is limited in each intake; we recommend enrolling when you’re ready.

Receive the syllabus by email