Culinary Arts Major - Bachelor of Arts

Passionate about food? Study the Culinary Arts major in the Bachelor of Arts and prepare yourself for a career in culinary arts.

This culinary arts degree brings together key culinary techniques and advanced theoretical concepts in food science, technology and ethics. It’s designed to develop your creativity and provide the springboard for your career in culinary arts. It's suitable for a wide range of students - from students who are coming directly from secondary school to industry professionals wanting to further their skills.


This is part of the Bachelor of Arts.

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There’s an emphasis on practical and professional skills. You can tailor the degree to your interests and include courses from related disciplines like food science, hospitality, tourism, event management, human resource management or marketing.

In your first year, you become familiar with culinary arts as a discipline. You collaborate with your classmates to discuss culinary arts culture and explore concepts of sensory appreciation. This year, you choose a single major, minor or a double major to study in your second year. In Year 2 and 3 you take more advanced culinary arts courses.

Core courses

All students in the Bachelor of Arts complete core courses that cover effective communication, critical thinking and other transferable skills you'll need for your future career.

COMM570 Academic Communication: Conventions and Expectations
CLSY500 Culture and Society
CLSY504 Knowledge and Inquiry
CULN795 Advanced Culinary Showcase

Culinary arts courses

Courses you could take over your three years of study include:

CULN510 Professional Culinary Arts
CULN511 Commercial Culinary Practice
CULN602 Contemporary Cuisine in Aotearoa
CULN603 Nutrition and Wellbeing
CULN702 Food Ethics and Sustainability
FOOD501 Food and Senses
HOSP608 Eating History: Exploring Food and Hospitality in Aotearoa New Zealand OR EVNT601 Event Planning
MGMT721 Leadership Principles, Perspectives and Practice
SOSC701 Sociology of Food

Practical industry experience

The Advanced Culinary Showcase course is at the heart of your final semester, giving you the opportunity to create an event. This practical experience helps you build further skills for the workplace and consolidate your decision on your professional career after graduation.

Final-year Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts students hosted Hope, Strength & Love; a charity fundraising dinner for Breast Cancer Cure. The dinner, a 5-course degustation, was designed with the support of celebrity chefs Ray McVinnie, Ben Baley and Des Harris. The event raised over $3,000 for the charity.

Skills you will develop

The outcomes for graduates of this major are outlined in the Graduate Profile below.

Graduate Profile

Other requirements for this major

The practical side of this programme involves using commercial kitchen tools and equipment and requires you to demonstrate a level of skill that doesn’t compromise any health and safety standards for yourself and others.

Skills needed for culinary arts courses

More details about courses in this programme

Detailed programme structure and course outlines (Blackboard)

  • Artisan food producer
  • Consultant
  • Owner/operator small business
  • Food and beverage manager
  • Food stylist
  • Product developer
  • Professional chef
  • Teacher
Culinary-Arts-A4.JPG

Find out more about industry trends, job descriptions and what employers may be looking for.

Culinary Arts Careers

Key features
  • The only culinary arts degree in the New Zealand university sector
  • Skills to establish your own culinary business
  • Emphasis on practical and professional skills in culinary arts
  • First-hand experience in event development
  • Flexibility to include courses of your interest
See yourself as
  • Having a passion for preparing and cooking food
  • Creative, imaginative and innovative
  • A team player and good communicator
  • Able to pay attention to detail
Regina Kabweaa Teem
Elizabeth Na’asipa Toloke
Karen Coleman
Regina Kabweaa Teem
Great graduatesRegina Kabweaa TeemBachelor of ArtsDeciding to study culinary arts was easy, says Regina Kabweaa Teem who came to AUT as an international student from Kiribati to enrol in the Bachelor of Arts.Deciding to study culinary arts was easy, says Regina Kabweaa Teem who came to AUT as an international student from Kiribati, supported by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade NZ Scholarship. Once she graduates she hopes to teach culinary arts in a professional setting in her home country Kiribati.
Elizabeth Na’asipa Toloke
Great graduatesElizabeth Na’asipa TolokeMaster of Gastronomy
Bachelor of ArtsThe biggest misunderstanding about food is that food is only there to eat, says Elizabeth Na’asipa Toloke who came to AUT to study culinary arts & gastronomy.The biggest misunderstanding about food is that food is only there to eat, says Elizabeth Na’asipa Toloke who came to AUT to study a Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts, followed by a Master of Gastronomy. She has been impressed by the support she received throughout her studies, says Elizabeth who is expecting to graduate with her master’s degree later this year.
Karen Coleman
Great graduatesKaren ColemanGraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching
Bachelor of Arts
Diploma in Culinary ArtsWith a dream to teach culinary arts, Karen Coleman hopes to one day inspire her students as much as her AUT Bachelor of Arts lecturers inspired her.With a dream to teach culinary arts, Karen Coleman hopes to one day inspire her students as much as her lecturers inspired her. After completing a Diploma in Culinary Arts in 2009, Karen successfully worked as a chef for several year, but felt she wanted to do more; she wanted to share her passion for food with others by becoming a culinary arts teacher.

The information on this page was correct at time of publication. For a comprehensive overview of AUT qualifications, please refer to the Academic Calendar.

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