Culinary Arts Associate Degree: Changing Majors and Careers

There comes a time for everyone to make a decision about how they want to earn a living. Deciding what to do with your time and your skills requires a variety of considerations. One of the most important factors in determining the line of work you choose is the type of education that you choose. While you typically make these decisions when you are young, there is no time limit or expiration date on education. This means that as your interests and needs change, you can adapt and expand your skill set and knowledge. Whether you are having second thoughts about your field of study while in college or looking for a change of pace from your current career, a culinary arts degree can create many new opportunities.

If you have a passion for cooking and creating, then a career in the restaurant and hospitality industry is perfect for you.

Establishing a strong foundation with the knowledge and skills needed by a professional chef is essential. The curriculum at Louisiana Culinary Institute not only prepares you for life in the kitchen, but also the vital skills that you’ll need to run, manage, and grow your own business as a chef and an entrepreneur.

With three different areas of focus, you’ll have options as to which areas of the industry you’d like to pursue. Advanced Culinary Arts teaches you a multitude of skills and techniques through a wide range of cuisines and flavor profiles. Advanced Baking & Pastry focuses on dessert skills like cake decorating, centerpieces, and more. Hospitality and Culinary Management offers the expertise needed to manage and lead in the hospitality and restaurant industries.

While some of the courses in all three programs overlap, the concentration in each is designed to prepare you to perform at a high level after graduation. Each curriculum also features math, English, accounting, leadership, and other courses that are meant to make you a well-rounded professional.

While LCI offers an accelerated 16-month degree program, you can complete your culinary education even faster with transfer credits . If you’ve graduated from college or have completed college courses, you can transfer those credit hours for the appropriate math and English classes in your degree program. This means that the work you’ve already done can put you that much closer to your first career, or a brand new one.

A career as a professional chef can be fulfilling and present many different opportunities. Get started by applying to LCI today.

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From Music to Kitchen Mastery: Student Spotlight on Ben Messina

By Charlie Ruffolo • March 25, 2026

Some people know from childhood exactly where they're headed. Ben Messina took a different route. He started college as a music major, took a gap year to find his footing, and leaned on his brother's encouragement before landing exactly where he was always meant to be: a professional kitchen . Now a senior in the Savory program at Louisiana Culinary Institute (LCI) in Baton Rouge, Ben is weeks away from graduating in May 2026. He arrived at LCI with a love of cooking and a family connection to food. He's leaving with a world-class culinary foundation, a mentor who pushed him to be his best, and a dream of opening multiple restaurants of his own one day. His story is proof that the path to a culinary career doesn't have to be a straight line. Is It Too Late to Change Careers and Go to Culinary School? For Ben, food has always been part of the family fabric. Growing up in Baton Rouge, he spent time in the kitchen with his grandmother, learning to make snickerdoodles as a kid. Those early memories planted a seed. But Ben initially followed a different passion. He'd played trumpet and piano since a young age, so he enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana University to study music. It wasn't long before the questions started creeping in: "What am I actually going to do with a music degree?" He took a gap year to figure it out. And the answer, when it came, was simple: go back to his other love. Cooking. His brother, who owns a food truck, had been encouraging him to consider culinary school. More specifically, he encouraged Ben to look at LCI. And then, without warning, he signed him up for a campus tour.

Leadership and Culinary Skill: Why Being a Great Cook Isn't the Same as Being a Great Leader

By Charlie Ruffolo • February 26, 2026

Being a great cook isn’t enough. Explore how LCI develops culinary leadership skills that prepare students for real-world kitchen management and career growth.