1326
intense hours of experiential learning #CookingTomorrow
Culinary Institute of Barcelona
PCAC · PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA
Haute Cuisine
Haute Cuisine
Chef Diploma
For the next generation of forward-thinking chefs, lovers of creativity and innovation, who want to turn gastronomy into their profession.
Upcoming intakes
Limited places
Duration
11 or 14 months
1,326 hours · Full time
Location
Barcelona
100% in-person
Language
In Spanish & English
The CIB is an international school. Thats why some sessions are in Spanish, others in English, with an approximately 60/40 distribution. We provide visual support with real-time translation, additional bilingual notes related to the sessions, and free Spanish classes for students
Más información
Cerrar
+500
unique sessions and content that go beyond simple knowledge
+85%
international students. A worldwide network of contacts.
+200
internship agreements with international restaurants
TOP
Worldwide
CIB, named one of the best international cooking schools in the world
Presentation professional chef course
It's not enough to be a chef
It's not enough to be a chef
Here we train chefs for the 21st century
The gastronomic sector is changing and evolving at an unstoppable pace.
New market trends, respect for the product, the way of doing business, leadership in restaurant operations, a focus on the future, and our responsible impact on sustainability are the DNA of the program that prepares the next generation of chefs.
Starting a professional culinary career, training after years of experience in the restoration sector, or changing professions to become a chef or entrepreneur, are some of the scenarios why people from all over the world decide to transform their lives with the Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma.
This Culinary Institute of Barcelona's professional chef course is arguably the most up-to-date and impactful culinary arts program in the world and offers our students a radical transformation of their professional trajectory. In just a few short weeks, our students are capable of creating things that no one has ever done before, not just because of the in-depth knowledge they acquire about the product, the technology or the context, but because we focus our entire educational model on inspiring creativity and culinary innovation.
The program drives the development of lateral skills, such as self-management, managing others, and business management. It teaches direction, communication, and the use of storytelling to create memorable gastronomic experiences. Social and professional attitudes for leadership in the kitchen are strengthened. And all this is applied evolutionarily and transversally through challenges that test our students.
It is an intense and concentrated program that prepares you to enter the professional world in 8 academic months and 3 or 6 months of supervised internships in restaurants. An educational experience within the international ecosystem that characterizes the CIB in Barcelona, one of the gastronomic capitals of the world and top choice to study cooking.
With more than 70 leaders in international gastronomy, this program is the gateway to the combined programs of the CIB. through this diploma you will lay the foundations of professional cooking that will allow you to continue your training itinerary successfully, such as the 2-year Grand Chef Diploma.
#CookingTomorrow
Our own methodology created to face 21st-century training.
Industry Leaders
+70 teachers. The best in every subject.
International Internships
+200 agreements in top-tier restaurants.
CIBers
An international community of +1,300 students.
Learning objectives
What you will be capable of doing
Whatever your future holds, here we teach you how to differentiate yourself and prepare for 21st-century cooking.
TECHNICAL MASTERY:
Design, implement, and supervise
culinary services in restaurants or any company in the field of gastronomy and restoration.
Integral vision of the kitchen
Techniques, methodologies, and functionalities so you can design, propose, and execute integral organizational improvements.
CREATIVE CRITERIA
Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Develop new product proposals and services in your own or third-party gastronomic businesses.
New Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes
To lead any kitchen in teams oriented towards culinary creativity and innovation with a new leadership style.
PROFESSIONAL PATH
Vision of the Gastronomic Future
Perceive this viewpoint of the world of restoration and assume the skills required of a 21st-century chef.
Global Cooking Culture
You will acquire international cooking culture that will allow you to work in any kitchen in the world.
We train with learning experiences to transform people.
Those who don't change don't evolve, and teaching must serve that purpose: to teach how to evolve.
At the CIB, imagining is doing, and students are the protagonists of change #CookingTomorrow. Here we teach how to improve, how to question, to imagine, to search, and to find new possibilities.
We teach how to do things rather than just know things, and not to accept what is established.
01
Creativity
The tool that allows you to find better solutions before anyone else. Create to find answers that nobody has given yet.
02
Innovation
What allows you to stay ahead in the market. If you don't innovate, you'll fall behind those who do. The CIB trains you to lead change.
03
Future Outlook
The tool that allows you to be the protagonist of change. The world changes fast. If you don't adapt, the future will crush you.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Living the learning in every sense
A horizontal, synchronous, multidirectional experience based on doubt. You learn with other CIBers from all over the world, with active mentors and in an environment that replicates industry reality.
LEARNING CONTENT
More than 1,800 sessions a year
Content that goes beyond simple knowledge. Training in skills, attitudes, and possibilities. Every session is designed so you leave with something you didn't have before.
CHALLENGE
Evaluation as a positive experience
There are no classic exams, and here we don't evaluate based on recipes. Challenges are real trials before professional juries. A motivating experience that measures what really matters: what you can actually do.
Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma Reviews
CIBers, our students, talk
Our graduates share their transformation and success after their time at the Culinary Institute of Barcelona.
"Studying at CIB has been, without a doubt, one of the happiest and most inspiring stages of my life. I just finished the Haute Cuisine Chef course, and when I started 8 months ago, I arrived with the hope of learning about technique and product and I found a comprehensive training that goes much further. Here you don't just learn to cook: the cook and the entrepreneur, the critical thinker and the human being are formed. From nutrition, history, food safety to sensory analysis, decision making, teamwork, storytelling, gastronomic journalism and much more... each subject is designed to prepare you in a real and deep way for today's world of gastronomy. I want to thank my teachers for their professional and human quality. And to the entire team and staff of the school, thank you for your passion, dedication and for creating an environment where you can tell that not only cooking is taught but also being better people. CIB leaves a mark, and for me it will always be a home."
"As someone who has experienced a traditional culinary school and worked in professional kitchens, I found that CIB offers a fresh perspective compared to classic culinary schools. Their innovative and future-focused approach to education was something I really appreciated. Most of the instructors were excellent, not only knowledgeable but also passionate about teaching and truly supportive of their students. Their guidance and insights made a huge impact on my learning experience, and I genuinely enjoyed their classes. Also, one of the best parts of my time at CIB was meeting people from all over the world. Connecting with classmates from different cultural backgrounds and learning together was incredibly inspiring. Through these experiences and the amazing lessons from my instructors, I gained a lot of inspiration and felt significant personal growth."
Who is the haute cuisine chef diploma for?
For chefs who want to
change the gastronomic future and their own
I want to start my career as a professional chef
For people who want to start their academic studies and enter the market with outstanding competitive advantages as CIBer
I want to make the big jump in my career
For people who have already started a professional gastronomic career but want to reach the next professional level in the kitchen.
I want to undertake in the world of gastronomy
For those entrepreneurial people with the ability to carry out and lead projects.
I want to change sectors and life
For people who want to expand their comfort zone to reach their personal and professional goals by becoming a chef.
I want an international culinary training experience
For those entrepreneurial people with the ability to carry out and lead projects.
I want to work successfully in any kitchen in the world
For people who want to have a holistic and international vision that allows them to face challenges from any kitchen in the world.
What are our haute cuisine chef diploma pupils like?
Entrepreneurial people from all over the world
who want to revolutionize the sector
+85%
International Profile
You will live with entrepreneurial profiles arriving from every continent.
+70%
Entrepreneurial Profile
Professional friendships with whom you will share experiences and a same ambition.
100%
MATCH
Each intake is designed based on criteria of heterogeneity and compatibility.
25
Average Age
Experiences from all ages and levels that will enrich you more.
Haute Cuisine Chef Diploma teachers and professors
+ 70 Learning Facilitators, of creativity and innovation
CIB teachers are specially trained to move from being a mere transmitter of knowledge to being the generator of initiative and motivation towards knowledge, regardless of the student's educational and curricular level.
We abandon the traditional teaching model based on competencies where the professor who knows everything sits in front of silent students while they listen and obey. This is not the CIB. In the CIB, teachers are educators of emotions and we demand them to have a set of new competencies and skills that allow them to enhance synchronous, horizontal and dialogue-based language, being stimulators of the student's active participation. Meet some of them:
We abandon the traditional teaching model based on competencies where the professor who knows everything sits in front of silent students while they listen and obey. This is not the CIB. In the CIB, teachers are educators of emotions and we demand them to have a set of new competencies and skills that allow them to enhance synchronous, horizontal and dialogue-based language, being stimulators of the student's active participation. Meet some of them:
Juanmi Iñiguez
EXECUTIVE CHEF AND PCAC PROGRAM DIRECTORExecutive Chef at the CIB. Previously, chef at Restaurante Martín Berasategui (***) and Restaurante Oria (*)
Eduard Bosch
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATIONGastronomic manager for restaurants such as El Celler de Can Roca (***). Previously, head chef at El Bulli (**)
Adrià Benages
HAUTE CUISINE AND CIB TEACHER CHEFTeacher chef at the CIB. Specialist in fusion of Japanese cuisine with Catalan tradition. Previously, at Koy Shunka (*).
Lorenzo Sacchi
ITALIAN HAUTE CUISINEChef of Il Circolino (*) restaurant since 2021. In love with Iberian products since his stage in Barcelona.
Your time is now
Prices and upcoming intakes
Get more for less. The combined program is the smart choice, as it offers financial advantages (15%) compared to purchasing the programs separately.
NEXT INTAKE
Septiembre 2026
€ 26,620
VAT included
Start sooner with the full program at the reference price.
OPEN CALL
Enero 2027
€ 23,958
€ 26,620VAT included
Oferta válida hasta el 10/07/2026Plan and reserve your place in advance. Intake now open for enrollment.
OPEN CALL
Mayo 2027
€ 22,627
€ 26,620VAT included
Oferta válida hasta el 10/07/2026Plan and reserve your place in advance. Intake now open for enrollment.
ALL INCLUSIVE, NO SMALL PRINT
What the price includes
Professional knife set
Your own set of knives with a unique identifier valued at over €800.
Uniform and equipment
All the clothing and equipment you will need for the 1,326 hours of your haute cuisine chef diploma training, backpack with charger, etc. Except for shoes, which...
All raw materials included
At no other school in the world will you touch and cook as much raw material as at the CIB, all included in the price.
All experiences
All program activities, both inside and trips outside the CIB.
CIB Membership
You will become a CIBer for the rest of your life. You will have access to our job board with unique job offers, advantages, and career opportunities, and an international network.
Graduation Ceremony
You will remember this day as one of the most special and memorable days of your life.
International payments with full guarantee
Manage your enrollment from anywhere in the world with secure, certified payment systems designed for international students.
Flexible payment structure
We adapt your program payment so that, after making the registration payment, you can distribute it in up to 4 installments, facilitating your financial planning.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
Talk to our academic advisors. No commitment, no pressure.
After CIB
Everything starts after CIB
Being a CIBer doesn't end at graduation. It begins when you leave with criteria, network, and confidence to provide added value.
WHERE YOU FIT WHEN YOU HAVE BASE AND MINDSET
- Head Chef
- Innovation (R&D) Project Manager
- Culinary Entrepreneurship
- Gastronomic Director (Food Industry & Restoration)
- Private Chef
CIBER ECOSYSTEM
- Job board "I want a CIBer"
- International contact network
- Events, opportunities and continuous training
- CIB Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Admission and selection process
A different way of doing things
At CIB we choose people for their attitude and potential, not just for their experience. We look for profiles with an entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and leadership capacity, committed to building a better future within the gastronomic sector. If we choose you, it is because we see in you the motivation to go further, take on challenges and be part of an educational experience that drives personal and professional change.
How do I send my application to CIB? Our admissions team will accompany you through each of these simple steps:
Step 1
Fill in the contact form
Complete the contact form so that one of our advisors can get in touch with you.
Step 2
Consult with an Advisor
We will assign you a personal advisor who will guide and accompany you throughout the process.
Step 3
Send your admission form
It is time to complete the admission form, a crucial step to advance your application.
Step 4
Pass the evaluation interview
Interview phase with the online Admissions Committee to evaluate your profile.
Step 5
Be accepted at CIB
Our department will send you an email with the exciting news of your acceptance.
Step 6
Complete your enrollment
Reserve your place in the same acceptance email and complete the payment within 15 days.
Frequently asked questions
We solve your doubts
-
Is previous experience necessary for this Diploma?
We won't accept you based on your past, but on who you want to become in the future.
The PCAC is a transformation process designed to accompany you from the fundamentals to a professional level in 11 intensive months. We work with constant challenges, where error is part of growth and where discipline and resilience weigh more than the resume.
If you have a CIBer mindset, here you will find the methodology, the exigency and the ideal environment to learn how to think, create and innovate. This is the first step to contribute to the transformation of gastronomy, and it doesn't matter where you start from, but where you want to reach. -
What is the difference between the CIB Haute Cuisine Chef program and traditional training?
Traditional training teaches how to execute recipes. At CIB we train your criteria, your creativity and your capacity to innovate. The objective is not to reproduce dishes, but to develop leaders capable of designing experiences with their own identity. In short, the CIB is an international ecosystem where you will live an intense personal and professional evolution. That's why you will not only learn about product and technique, you will also learn communication, leadership, management, business strategies or global gastronomic culture. -
How do international internships work?
The stage is a real extension of your transformation. We have more than 200 international agreements and we design with you a personalized itinerary of 3 or 6 months according to your goals. You will perform an immersion in the gastronomic sector where you will put into practice everything learned, expand your professional network and understand the real dynamics of the global industry. But, above all, it will be a stage where you will continue learning and training, getting closer to your final objective. -
Does this degree open doors at an international level?
Gastronomy is global. And CIB is too.
Students of more than 100 nationalities have already passed through the school, and in your experience here you will live with peers from all continents, developing an international mindset that the market values. The combination of intensive training, real challenges and stage experience strengthens your profile to lead projects anywhere in the world.