Culinary careers are sizzling again as the hospitality and restaurant industry bounces back from the pandemic and seeks to fill the positions vacated during the COVID-19 downturn. Chaffey College is doing its part to get more cooks in the kitchen.
Culinary careers are sizzling again as the hospitality and restaurant industry bounces back from the pandemic and seeks to fill the positions vacated during the COVID-19 downturn. Chaffey College is doing its part to get more cooks in the kitchen.
“The industry is growing big time,” says Mark Forde, Professor of Culinary Arts at Chaffey. “There are very highly paid jobs in this industry. You’ve got to work up and get them, but there are those opportunities.”
Indeed, according to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant and food service industry is the nation’s second-largest private employer, having surged back after the 2020 disruption to reach roughly $1.5 trillion in sales in 2025. Demand for restaurant cooks is expected to rise 20.4 percent nationwide, while the industry as a whole is projected to experience 5 percent job growth between 2022 and 2032 (bls.gov).
“Since graduating from the Chaffey College culinary program a little more than a year ago, I’ve had amazing opportunities come my way,” says Robert Ledesma, who graduated in 2024 (Pictured: Left). “My training … under the guidance & mentoring of Chef Forde definitely set me up for success in the industry for which I am forever thankful.”
He’s not kidding. Since graduating, Ledesma has worked at the fine-dining restaurant Napa Rose at Disneyland Resort, the 3-Michelin-star Providence in Los Angeles, the 1-Michelin-star restaurants Kali and Kato, and the renowned 3-Michelin-star French Laundry in Napa Valley, working for renowned chef Thomas Keller (Pictured: Right).
Part of Ledesma’s success stemmed from the internships and externships that the Chaffey Culinary Arts program connected him to. Partnering with employers throughout the region, Chaffey has opened doors to employers such as Disney, Universal, Kaiser, Porto’s, Compass Group, Sodexo, Aramark, Doubletree, and Hilton. Alumni have also successfully transferred to the Culinary Institute of America, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Riverside, Cal State Long Beach, and many other four-year colleges.
“I’m glad I didn’t spend money and go to a big culinary school because I got just the same experience here,” Ledesma says. “You’re able to do cooking classes, baking classes, hospitality classes, cooking competitions.”
The Chaffey Culinary Arts program is offered at Chaffey’s Chino Campus, and offers Associate of Science (AS) degrees and certificates in Culinary Arts and Professional Baking & Patisserie. The AS degree prepares students for both transfer and advancement in the professional food industry. The Certificate of Achievement prepares students for entry and mid-level positions in the professional food industry.
The Chaffey Culinary Arts program provides an immersive learning experience in a state-of-the-art, fully equipped commercial kitchen.
“Having access to industry-standard equipment (at Chaffey) was definitely a huge help,” says Chaffey alumnus Justin Biendara (Class of 2024) who works at the Crust and Crumble Bakery in Glendora. “There was less of a learning curve when I got out into the real world.”
Other community colleges in Riverside and San Bernardino counties offering culinary arts programs include College of the Desert, Copper Mountain College, Mt. San Jacinto College, Riverside City College, and San Bernardino Valley College.
Biendara encourages those who are thinking about a culinary career: “If I had to say anything to anyone that was even remotely thinking about doing a culinary arts program, it’s absolutely do it— 100 percent. It was probably the best decision that I’ve made in my life to date.”
See video on the Chaffey Culinary Arts program.
Culinary careers are sizzling again as the hospitality and restaurant industry bounces back from the pandemic and seeks to fill the positions vacated during the COVID-19 downturn. Chaffey College is doing its part to get more cooks in the kitchen.
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