Culinary Arts completers will take 2 courses at RTC (4 units) and then may be eligible for registered youth apprenticeships before graduating high school. After high school, students may take advantage of the Greenwood Promise and/or ProStart scholarships to be able to continue their culinary education.
Culinary 1 begins begins with a strong safety foundation. Students are able to gain the ServSafe Food Handler certification (recognized by SC Department of Agriculture health inspectors for restaurant use). Students learn safe knife use, an overview of foodservice opportunities, and explore recipe reading/comprehension before diving into cooking methods applied to a variety of mediums and applied culinary math. to complete quarter 1. For the second quarter, students fabricate chickens before making homemade stocks, sauces, and soups. We cover other topics such as sandwiches, pizzas, salads, basic baked goods, restaurant equipment, and basic nutrition. Students participate in a quarter-long group project to design a foodservice menu and begin to plan an establishment. The culmination of this course is the national ProStart 1 exam which can lead to scholarship opportunities. This class is a double block class offered every fall (Block 1 and 2 or Block 3 and 4)
Culinary 2 is the capstone course and applies the skills and knowledge of the previous classes. Students will be in a semester-long double block course and will have many opportunities to explore yeast breads, desserts, seafood, meats, and so much more. Students will expand the concepts of their Culinary 1 project in a new semester-long project and they will have the opportunity to gain the ServSafe Manager (a $150 value recognized by SCDA for restaurant managers) certification and the ProStart 2 exam (which, when paired with the ProStart 1 and 400 work hours may lead to scholarship opportunities through the ProStart COA certification). This course will be offered in the spring semester with either double blocks 1 and 2 or blocks 3 and 4 or both.
HONORS TRACK
Culinary 2 is offered in a parallel course offering honors credit. Students will have additional assignments and requirements including a semester portfolio and exam score requirements.
Completer students who have remaining academic semesters before graduation may participate in a registered youth apprenticeship. These students may earn high school credits while working in a professional foodservice environment and gaining valuable experience
Visit The Greenwood Promise for more information about how students can get last dollar tuition coverage at The Culinary Institute of the Carolinas (Offering formal 2+2 articulation agreements with USC-Beaufort, Lander University, and USC for those wanting a bachelor's degree after completing their associate's degree), The Culinary Institute of Charleston (Offering informal articulation agreements with USC, USC Beaufort, and College of Charleston), The International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beach, or Culinary Institute of the South
Other excellent culinary educational opportunities in and near South Carolina include
Johnson and Wales University (Promotional video here)
University of South Carolina
Bob Jones University
Further afield is CIA in Hyde Park, NY
The US Coast Guard is also offering a significant signing bonus (Over $50k as of 4/1/25) for culinary specialists (with guaranteed-placement signing). Information here: https://www.gocoastguard.com/careers/enlisted/cs
Students who pass the ProStart 1 and ProStart 2 exams (Final exams for both Culinary 1 and 2) and get 400 hours of restaurant work experience get the ProStart COA. This COA is worth college credits for a number of colleges.
Entire list of schools and their credits
Greenville Technical College / Culinary Institute of the Carolinas Credits
We will occasionally offer inter-session camps for 6th-9th grade students. Please follow RTC Chef Hancock on social media. These camps are offered PTC and are open to all students in that grade range. Piedmont Technical College Continuing Education
Continuing education cooking classes and community ServSafe Manager courses are available through Piedmont Technical College Continuing Education
