Learn professional cooking in Spain with an official qualification
Train in one of the countries with the greatest gastronomic reputation and prepare to work in a sector with high demand for professionals. You will gain an official qualification, recognised across the European Union, which opens the door to a career in hospitality and catering.
What can you work as with a vocational qualification in Hospitality?
Professional cook
Restaurants, hotels and large-scale catering, where jobs are covered by an employment contract and a collective agreement.
Chef de partie
The first role with people under your responsibility in the kitchen.
Head chef or sous chef
Leading the team, costing dishes, purchasing and menu design.
Catering and events
Food production for banquets, weddings and large-scale service.
Hotel food and beverage
Hotel and tourism kitchens, the sector that hires the most on the coast.
Your own business
The programme includes the management side: costs, food safety and running a team.
The programme includes work placements in professional kitchens (Formación en Centros de Trabajo, FCT), where you gain real experience. In many cases, these placements become a first opportunity for employment in the establishment itself.
The hospitality programmes you can study
What previous studies do I need in order to get in?
With an officially recognised Bachillerato
The Kitchen Management (Dirección de Cocina) programme prepares you to organise and run a professional kitchen, lead teams, control costs and ensure food safety. You access it with an officially recognised Bachillerato (upper secondary education) or an equivalent qualification.
What requirements do I have to meet and how do I get my Bachillerato officially recognised? → Advanced Level requirements
With officially recognised secondary education
If you do not have the Bachillerato, you can access an intermediate-level programme with your officially recognised secondary education. Once you obtain the Technician qualification, you can move on directly to an advanced-level programme.
How do I get my secondary school qualification officially recognised and what documents do I need? → Intermediate Level requirements
Not sure whether your qualification can be officially recognised? Send us a photo and we will tell you before you start any paperwork. → Ask us
And if you do not speak Spanish yet
You do not need to know any Spanish to join the programme. There are two stages: six months of an intensive course at our school in Murcia —accredited by the Instituto Cervantes—, from zero to B1.2 – B2.1, and then your vocational programme.
In a professional kitchen, communication is essential. You will have to understand instructions, work together with the team and use the specific vocabulary of the kitchen. That is why the programme starts with an intensive Spanish course before the vocational training begins.
Experience opens doors; the qualification opens more of them
In hospitality you can start working without an official qualification. However, in order to apply for positions with more responsibility, lead a team, run a business or improve your opportunities inside and outside Spain, having a qualification makes the difference.
Vocational training gives you the technical and management knowledge the sector requires —such as food safety, kitchen organisation, cost control and team leadership—, as well as an official qualification recognised across the European Union.
A qualification that travels with you
The official qualification certifies your training and makes it easier to access job opportunities in Spain and in other European Union countries.
Spanish and the visa
These are the two steps before the programme. We take care of both of them.
Six months of Spanish
The programmes are taught in Spanish, with Spanish classmates and teachers. That is why the programme starts with the language: six months of an intensive course at our school in Murcia, accredited by the Instituto Cervantes, from zero up to the level you need in order to follow a vocational programme, with an exam at the end.
If you already have a certified DELE B2, you skip this stage and go straight into the programme.
Student visa
Being enrolled at a school accredited by the Instituto Cervantes allows you to apply for the visa. The language is not only the language: it is the key to the paperwork.
We support you with the documents —admission letter, enrolment and medical insurance—, the areas where most applications are refused because the paperwork was badly presented.
If you come from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you do not need a visa.
Would you rather not deal with the paperwork?
We offer an optional external professional service that handles the whole application for you. It is voluntary: you can do it yourself or request this service.
What you ask us most about hospitality
Do I need previous experience in a kitchen?
No. The programme is designed to start from the basics, so you do not need any previous experience. If you have already worked in a kitchen, that experience will help you find your feet more easily during the work placements.
What language are the classes and the work placements taught in?
In Spanish. Both the classes and the kitchen placements take place in Spanish, which is why the programme starts with a six-month intensive course so that you can work with confidence in a professional environment.
Do the work placements take place in real restaurants?
Yes. The placements take place in partner restaurants and establishments, and they are one of the main routes into a job once you finish the programme.
Students who arrived without a word of Spanish
Since the year 2000, 9.403 students have studied with us, most of them from the Maghreb, West Africa and much of Europe, and nearly all of them started the same way: without knowing how to say hello. You learn through immersion and in small groups, in a city where living costs little and you practise Spanish from day one.
Would you like to work as a cook in Spain?
- A reply within 24 – 48 hours by email or WhatsApp
- Free and with no obligation
- We can help you in Spanish, English, French and Arabic
