Culinary School with Celiac Disease

Have you dreamt of becoming a chef, but you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease or food allergies? While it will be more challenging, you can definitely still go to culinary school.

Some top culinary schools have a history of accepting and working with students that have food allergies or celiac disease. There are also celiac-specific culinary courses you can take online. This is a list of culinary education options that are accessible to celiacs.

Culinary Schools That Accommodate Celiac

You’ll find information regarding location, course length, cost, and accreditation for each school so you can make an informed decision. An instructor’s understanding of students with celiac disease seems to vary widely, but this is a good starting point. We highly recommend contacting the school and speaking with your actual instructor before committing to any course.

Culinary Institute of America

CIA seems to be very accommodating for gluten free people, and have even put out a gluten free cookbook of their own! They also offer specific courses that teach you how to cater to different dietary needs, such as the Advanced Baking Principles class. Past students have reported that teachers are very helpful and provide alternatives.

• Location: New York, California, Texas, Singapore, online

• Course length: Depends on experience and degree chosen. Generally 18 months for an Associates, 4 years for a Bachelors degree.

• Cost: $20,000 - $22,000 per semester, with financial aid available

• Accredited? Yes, highly respected in the field

Institute of Culinary Education

ICE offers an entire plant-based culinary arts program, and have featured gluten free students and speakers in their newsletters, so they have a long history of being accommodating to those with special dietary needs. They’ve even had previous instructors that have celiac disease.

• Location: New York, Los Angeles, online

• Course length: 6 - 16 months

• Cost: $13,975 - $50,128.89 for diploma/degree, financial aid available

• Accredited? Yes

Kendall College at National Louis University

They confirmed that they offer gluten free and other allergy accommodations for students that are unable to work with or eat specific foods. You can get degrees or certificates in culinary or hospitality management, culinary arts, or baking and pastry arts. This is the culinary school shown in the tv show The Bear in season 2!

• Location: Chicago, Illinois

• Course length: 1 - 4 years

• Cost: $27,850 - $36,014 per year

• Accredited? Yes

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts

Escoffier offers a fully plant-based culinary arts degree at their Boulder campus and online and are able to accommodate celiac and food allergies at their various campuses if the program director approves it. They also offer hospitality and and restaurant management degrees. Their degrees generally include externships with partner companies.

• Location: Boulder, Colorado and Austin, Texas, online

• Course length: 30 - 60 weeks, plus a 12 week or 180 hour externship

• Cost: $11,756 - $37,370, financial aid available

• Accredited? Yes

Johnson and Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts

Their culinary program covers the kitchen skills and business education you need to open a successful restaurant. They report having widely successful alumni, with a very high career outcome rate. They include an article regarding how they accommodate those with food allergies on their site.

• Location: Providence, Rhode Island and Charlotte, North Carolina, online

• Course length: 2 - 4 years

• Cost: $13,365 - $41,782, financial aid available

• Accredited? Yes

Le Cordon Bleu

Le Cordon Bleu is highly acclaimed around the world, with many different locations - so gluten free accommodations probably vary widely! Their website includes many gluten free recipes and articles, references to past students with celiac disease, and some of their courses have a dietary restriction focus, with a mention of gluten free cooking.

• Location: France, Brazil, China, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Korea, Spain, Turkey, UK, Lebanon, New Zealand, Malaysia

• Course length: 30 weeks to 9 months

• Cost: $6,600 - $60,300

• Accredited? Yes

Culinary Arts Academy Switzerland

This school offers state-of-the-art technology and equipment, which may be relevant to your culinary training. Their programs include bachelors and masters degrees in culinary arts, business management, and pastry arts. One of their articles reference a specific course where students make gluten free items, so they’re at least aware of accommodating gluten free diets.

• Location: Bouveret, Switzerland

• Course length: 1 - 3 years

• Cost: $38,224 - $40,598 per year

• Accredited? Yes

Apicius International School of Hospitality

Apicius offers study abroad programs, full degrees, and career programs. Some of their many options include wine studies, hospitality, baking, and culinary arts. In their career program guide, a specific section for developing gluten free foods is mentioned, so they’re at least aware of these accommodations.

• Location: Florence, Italy

• Course length: Study abroad 9-15 weeks, 1-2 year career programs, 2-4 year undergraduate programs

• Cost: $4,250 for 3 credit summer semester - €7500 per year on average

• Accredited? Yes

Gluten Free and Food Allergy Specific Culinary Schools

If you’re more comfortable with an entirely gluten free school, most of your options are going to be virtual schools. You’ll be buying your own supplies and cooking on your own. This isn’t necessarily the experience that many people associate with culinary school, but it could still be a good introduction to gluten free cooking.

Many of the gluten free courses available online are baking-focused, as this is the major education gap for celiacs when attending traditional culinary shool. These online courses either require a large payment up front or have recurring membership requirements. Some of the sites aren’t the most intuitive, so make sure you read what’s included carefully before paying any fees.

Good Food Cooking School

Created by Heather Crosby, author of YumUniverse cookbook. Video courses with a yearly subscription to access a wide variety of topics including dairy free cheese, gluten free puff pastry, and fermented foods. Really beautiful and clean site, with easy to understand subscription options.

• Location: online

• Course length: self-paced, yearly membership purchase required

• Cost: $99

• Accredited? No

Dietary Institute GF Chef Program

A Canadian synchronous and asynchronous online course that caters specifically to dietary restrictions, including gluten, dairy, and nut-free cooking.

• Location: online

• Course length: 14 weeks

• Cost: $1895 CAD + $100.00 US Admissions fee, financial assistance available

• Accredited? Unclear

Bauman College Holistic Chef Program

A year-long online program with an industry externship included. A health-focused program that teaches fundamentals and helps you learn how to build recipes and menus that can accommodate a variety of food allergies. Pantry items package included, so you don’t need to buy all of your supplies.

• Location: online

• Course length: 12 months or 800 hours, with additional externship

• Cost: $17,750 tuition + $50 Registration Fee + $957 Books & Supplies + $15 ServSafe + $47.50 Student Tuition Recovery Fund = $18,819.50 total

• Accredited? ServSafe® certification included

The Gluten Free Culinary School

Virtual courses that you can take at your own pace, with a one week internship (in person) at their facility.

• Location: online + internship in San Diego, California

• Course length: self-paced

• Cost: $2990 - $7990

• Accredited? No

Robyn’s Gluten Free Baking Courses

Robyn’s courses include recipes and video instruction for each section - from breads to holiday goods.

• Location: online

• Course length: self-paced

• Cost: $99 - $129

• Accredited? No

Laulima Kitchen

On-demand gluten free courses for specific foods, seems to be a very limited selection.

• Location: online

• Course length: self-paced

• Cost: $20+

• Accredited? No