The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is the world's premier culinary college, and has been setting the standard for excellence in professional culinary education since its founding on 22 May 1946. What began as a storefront cooking school created to train returning World War II veterans has grown over eight decades into a global institution with campuses in New York, California, Texas and Singapore, shaping the future of food, beverage and hospitality worldwide.

CIA is a private, not-for-profit college guided by the core values of Excellence, Leadership, Professionalism, Ethics and Respect for Diversity. Its conferences and consulting services have made it the think tank of the food industry, and its alumni network includes some of the most celebrated chefs, restaurateurs and food industry leaders in the world.

Vision

Food is at the heart of our existence. Beyond sustenance, it is fundamental to cultures and deserves to be a source of joy for all people, families, and communities. CIA seeks to better understand and promote its relationship to health, the environment, and a vibrant, equitable economy.

Mission

The Culinary Institute of America is dedicated to bettering the nation and the world by means of outstanding education, practice, and scholarship on all aspects of food and the enterprises related to it. Through a transformative learning experience, CIA prepares future food leaders, innovators, and experts for personal and professional success.

Founding story

CIA was founded by Connecticut attorney Frances Roth, who had never worked in a restaurant but was determined to establish what she called "the culinary center of the nation," and co-founder Katharine Angell, wife of then-Yale University President James Rowland Angell. On 22 May 1946, the New Haven Restaurant Institute opened in downtown New Haven, CT, as the first and only school of its kind in the United States, with 50 students and a faculty of a chef, a baker and a dietitian. Within four years, 600 veterans from 38 states had graduated. In 1951, the school took the name it still carries today: the Culinary Institute of America, reflecting its national scope and growing student diversity.

A legacy of groundbreaking firsts

CIA's history is defined by a consistent record of innovation and industry leadership:

• First culinary college in the United States, founded in 1946
• First culinary college to grant an Associate degree in Culinary Arts (1971), a Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts (1993), and a Master's degree in Culinary Arts (2023)
• First to open a student-run, on-campus restaurant to the public, pioneering a training model now replicated across the industry (1973), and today operating over nine restaurants across four campuses
• First to introduce the Worlds of Flavor International Conference and Festival, bringing together hundreds of chefs from around the world to celebrate cultures, cuisines, traditions and techniques (1998)
• First to launch a master's degree in Culinary Therapeutics, applying culinary arts strategies to health and wellbeing (2025)
• First to develop MattsonIQ, the first AI platform for discovery and innovation in the global food industry, and the Mattson AI Lab @ CIA (2026)

Campuses

• Hyde Park, New York: the flagship campus, opened in 1972 on the former St. Andrew-on-Hudson Jesuit novitiate along the Hudson River, with Roth Hall as its main building, a 30,000-square-foot Marriott Pavilion with an 800-seat Ecolab Auditorium, over nine student-run restaurants, an Apple Pie Bakery Café, the Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine, a Student Recreation Center with pool, courts, gym and indoor track, and the Conrad N. Hilton Library
• St. Helena, California (CIA at Greystone): opened in 1995 in the heart of California's Napa Valley, and expanded to include CIA at Copia in downtown Napa in 2016, offering dining, classes, demonstrations and entertainment
• San Antonio, Texas (CIA Texas): opened in 2008 in the historic Pearl District, with a focus on Latin American cuisines and foodservice professionals, and home to the Nao restaurant celebrating the authentic cuisines of Latin America
• Singapore: opened in 2010 as CIA's first international campus, now operated in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), offering a Bachelor of Professional Studies degree in Culinary Arts Management in a 30,000-square-foot facility on the campus of Temasek Polytechnic
• Online: CIA offers fully online degree and master's programs for working professionals and graduates of CIA's associate degree programs

Academic programs

CIA offers master's, bachelor's and associate degrees, certificate programs, and courses for both industry professionals and food enthusiasts. Undergraduate majors include Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry Arts, Food Business, Food Studies and Sustainability, Culinary Science and Hospitality Management. Graduate programs include master's degrees in Food Business, Wine and Beverage Management, Sustainable Food Systems, Culinary Arts, and Culinary Therapeutics. Degrees can be customized through concentrations and travel experiences, with 15-week semester options at domestic or international campuses.

Faculty

CIA faculty are drawn from the top tier of the food and hospitality industries. Instructors include acclaimed master chefs, top food industry executives, world-famous restaurateurs, published authors and master sommeliers. CIA is the only school authorized to administer the American Culinary Federation's exam for Master Chefs, the highest professional certification in the country.

Industry influence

CIA functions as the think tank of the food world, with an Industry Solutions division now known as CIA Consulting that guides leading foodservice companies, manufacturers and restaurateurs with product development and menu enhancement. The annual Worlds of Flavor International Conference and Festival at the California campus transforms the Napa Valley into a crossroads of world food and culture. In 2025, CIA co-presented the first Food and Agricultural Policy Summit in Washington DC, co-organized the Blue Foods Summit promoting sustainable and healthy seafood, and hosted the Food is Life, Food is Health summit at CIA at Copia, bringing together chefs, healthcare professionals, nutrition scientists and sustainability experts. In 2026, CIA partnered with tRetail Labs to bring healthy, plant-forward and sustainable food and beverage options to airport travelers.

Accreditation and recognition

• Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
• Ranked Best in America by Culinary Schools College Rank
• OpenTable Diners' Choice Award 2025 for CIA restaurants
• New York State Craft Beer Competition 2026 recognition
• Featured in Next Gen Chef on Netflix (2025), filmed on the CIA campus
• Inaugural CIA Alumni Hall of Fame inaugurated in 2025, with the most influential alumni given a permanent place on campus

What the world's greatest chefs have said

• Paul Bocuse: "The first time I visited, I knew I had finally found a school that teaches the traditions of the world's cuisines. It's the best culinary school in the world."
• Thomas Keller: "The Culinary Institute of America has a rich and long tradition of offering the highest quality culinary education possible. I foresee the school continuing to shape many of our new leaders of the food industry well into the future."
• Julia Child: "In practically every successful restaurant or hotel in this country I've been in, more often than not I've encountered a Culinary Institute of America graduate in a leadership position."
• Life magazine: "The Harvard of Haute Cuisine." (1979)

Leadership

CIA is led by President Michiel Bakker, the college's sixth president, who assumed leadership in 2024 succeeding Dr. Tim Ryan, the Institute's longest-serving president. President Bakker brings nearly three decades of transformative leadership in the food and hospitality industries, including senior roles at Google and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.

Why CIA

1. The world's premier culinary college, with 80 years of continuous leadership in professional food education
2. A private, not-for-profit institution committed to excellence, professionalism, ethics and respect for diversity
3. The only U.S. school authorized to administer the American Culinary Federation's Master Chef exam, the highest professional certification in the country
4. Four campuses across New York, California, Texas and Singapore, plus a growing suite of online programs
5. Over nine student-run restaurants offering real-world training from day one
6. A global alumni network of food industry leaders, acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs
7. An active role as the food industry's think tank, through CIA Consulting, world-class conferences and an AI innovation lab