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Two Kansas Community Colleges Partner to Offer Expanded Culinary Training

August 11, 2021

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Johnson County Community College (JCCC) has partnered with Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, to offer expanded training in culinary arts. This opportunity allows JCCC to extend the benefits of its Chef Apprenticeship program to more Kansas students. In turn, the collaboration strengthens state and local workforce opportunities.

Under this partnership, eligible Butler students can dual-enroll in specific culinary coursework from JCCC. After completion, they can then qualify to sit for the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) practical and written exams to become a certified sous chef. This achievement demonstrates a student’s high degree of culinary skill and knowledge to future employers.

Through these practicum classes, Butler students will work in the Wichita area as paid chef apprentices under the supervision of an experienced JCCC ACF-qualified chef. In addition to invaluable industry training, students in both culinary programs earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree.  

“As higher education leaders work to create a stronger Kansas through collaboration, joining in this effort with Butler Community College allows JCCC to share in the work of strengthening multiple communities and providing educational opportunities for students that span our great state,” said Dr. Mickey McCloud, JCCC Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs/Chief Academic Officer. “Sharing expertise and programming with our colleagues at Butler is something that we believe is vital for the future of higher education in Kansas.”

JCCC’s chef apprenticeship program was the first to earn accreditation from the American Culinary Federation Educational Institute in 1979 and is currently the largest in the country. The program is sponsored by the ACF, the Greater Kansas City Chefs Association and the U.S. Department of Labor.

“We’re delighted to partner with JCCC for the benefit of our culinary arts students,” said Dr. Kim Krull, president of Butler Community College. “Two of the state’s powerhouse culinary programs are collaborating to serve the two largest metropolitan areas in Kansas.”

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