Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver

I recently finished the four month program at NWCAV. If you are seriously entertaining a culinary career you really need to consider attending this school you will not be disappointed. As a young teenager I grew up in the restaurant business and one day I opened up my own establishment, fifteen years later I finally attended Northwest Culinary Academy Vancouver. It’s never to late. The instructors are first rate always there to help and the environment fosters a healthy atmosphere for learning. The international representation among the students opens the mind as well as the senses to engage with one another, learn as well as receiving new culinary ideas collectively. Pay them a visit… I’m sure glad I did!

I chose Northwest because of their forward-​thinking orientation, their conscientiousness in regards to where food comes from, and the intimate atmosphere (high student-​to-​teacher ratio). It’s evident that the instructors deeply care about their craft and are committed to the growth of their students. Conversation ranged from the technical aspects of producing good food, to the environmental and social implications of it. Further, Northwest managed a rather seamless integration between the learning aspect and practice. I highly recommend this school to anyone looking to pursue the culinary arts.

I am enrolled in the inaugural 10 Week Culinary Arts Fantasy Camp, which is running May 25 to July 31. It is based on their 15 week Professional program, but geared toward home cooks and those wanting to learn a little more.
Boy oh boy has it delivered! I am having an absolute blast taking this course. All of the instructors are extremely passionate with what they are doing and that passion is very infectious.
Mindful eating, sustainable practices, using the whole product to make a variety of things, and HAVE FUN! Such simple concepts, but when it all comes together it is an eye opening revelation.
Thank you to Chefs Tony, Curtis, Jonathan, Ian, Warren, Michelle, Stacy and the soon-​to-​be-​Chef Dorris, for teaching this old dog some new culinary tricks.

I am new to Unilocal so have not had the courage yet to write a bad review on anyone out there so am sticking to what I believe is the best motto «if you dont have anything nice to say — dont say anything at all». I hope to get more courage later so…
I took the 8 day basic cooking course and really enjoyed and had fun! Tony (aka Chef) explains that you can get millions of recipes from the internet and what they plan on teaching is a mix of recipes that teach you all the basics for becoming a better cook. The knife skills you learn are invaluable as are the other forgotten basics of simmering, searing and roasting. typical class runs close to over 3 hours and is jam packed with hands on education plus the bonus is you get to eat what you make and with a class of wine paired with the dish. I have told countless people that if you are interested in becoming a better cook to take this class. nothing against any of the other one day classes offered by others but this is supreme. Great value for what you learn and you will impress your friends with the dinners that you will soon be cooking for them.

I got the opportunity to go see my partner and his classmates cook during their final exam. They had several seatings for their family and friends to grade their final dishes. The school is small, but well organized with tables for the students to be taught and see demos. The dinner guests sat at these tables for our delicious meal. Then, are several gas range stoves where the teams (students) cooked the meals. Some of the students served the tables of guest, while the other students cooked and received feedback on there dishes. We had appetizers and a three course meal which included a dessert. There were five different menus, which represented the five teams that were cooking the meals. The meal was delicious and very appealing to the eye. If this meal represents the quality of the teachers, students, and skills of the graduates from this school, then I am excited to see what comes out of the pastry students.
And as always, Have Fun!!!

As a former student at their professional culinary program, I am proud to have chosen this school to further my culinary education. I had a few choices of schools in foodie Vancouver, among others, VCC, Art Institute, and the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. All of them offer good programs but only Northwest made me feel like family.
They are small and independent. Opened by two former culinary teachers at another school, they decided to approach culinary education their own way. They taught us to highly respect food and encouraged us to make the best out of every part of the animal. They gave their life for us, after all. They taught us to respect our classmates and always work as a team from day 1. A kitchen should not be about bickering, backstabbing, or putting other people down to further one’s interest. This ain’t TV. They also taught us values. As cooks, we were taught to stay humble and work hard in class. Only then will we produce amazing food.
Compared to other schools in the city, it looks tiny from the outside of the shop lot. But it has a spacious open kitchen with 8 stoves and sunlight shining down from the ceiling on a nice sunny day. If you’re thinking about getting a stove for yourself, it’s not going to happen because chances are, you’re sharing a stove with multiple people in the industry as well. Despite that, it worked out for our class of 22 students. The pastry kitchen is much smaller, towards the back of the school and separated by a curtain but they are just as well equipped.
Unlike other schools with multiple intakes, Northwest only has 1 intake for culinary and pastry respectively every four months. Culinary has at at least two instructors at any given time (often, the third one will be around to help out as well). And yes, the owners are instructors as well. So we tend to get to know each other very well.
The professional culinary program is four months long and classes run everyday from 8.30 PM to about 4 PM. Although four months do not seem like a long time, but they managed to cover all the fundamental cooking techniques and exposed us to cuisines from around the world. Could they have spent more time on certain areas? Of course, we can always spend more time on some areas. In other schools where the program is a year or two years long, they definitely have the luxury to do that. But for most of Northwest’s students, who are mature and are either switching careers or are already working in the industry, this is the ideal program for those who want to learn solid fundamentals in a short amount of time, at an affordable tuition.
Northwest also has an extensive network with the culinary scene in Vancouver. As students, we signed up for short stages/​observations and they sent us to high end hotels, restaurants, and catering businesses. That way, we learned a lot about what we like and don’t like about the industry. Many graduates also ended up working in those places after graduation.
Aside from their professional program, they also have classes for serious foodies. You can learn to cook like a pro at home in a matter of weeks. I have sat at some of the classes and I can assure you that the instruction that were given to foodie classes are of comparable quality to the professional classes. They receive the same attention and taught the same techniques. Plus, the classes almost always come with a glass of wine or beer pairing as well.
If you’re curious about the programs that Northwest offers, definitely speak to the chef owners and learn more about them. You can schedule a time to come to sit in a class and get a feel of how it is to be a student. I hope you will join the Northwest family because I am glad I did.

For my 300^th review I find myself back at the source of my obsession with all things cooking, eating, and drinking.
The kitchen!
Well… OK, so it not exactly my kitchen. I wish. 6 – 8 massive gas ranges, and all the chopping blocks you can imagine. Saweeeeeeeet.
No, this particular kitchen belongs to one of the friendliest chefs I have ever met. If only there was a Chef Tony in every classroom across the country. We would be such a happier, healthier population. This guy is an essential service!
But alas, there is only one. And the only way to learn from this master is to attend his culinary school on Main street.
I am currently in the Culinary Basics course that runs for the next two months.
Day 1 consisted of hilarious rants about everything from the Slap Chop to Onion cutting goggles, and comparisons of people that have quality knives with those that stuff theirs in drawers. With a lot of methodically patient demos, he made everything seem do-​able, and way less intimidating with his helper chefs staring over our shoulders.
Of course we moved on to preparing our lovely Tortilla Soup, paired with a Vinho Verde in our new cooking teams. And it was a damn fine soup I must say.
Over the next 7 classes, we’ll learn another 25 must know recipes, with techniques on plating and pairing thrown in as well.
I can’t wait for tomorrow night!