Alice Sohn at Sage restaurant kitchen. Photo credit: Martin Dee.

Congratulations to the five recent graduates of our UBC Culinary Apprenticeship program!

Beginning their apprenticeships in 2018, each of these graduates completed 5,000 supervised kitchen hours, along with in-class learning and testing over a three-year period. Upon graduation, they were awarded inter-provincial Red Seals as Cooks from the BC Industry Training Authority.

During their apprenticeships, these individuals were able to work in all aspects of culinary at UBC and collectively participated in a number of signature UBC events, including Harvest Feastival, Chef’s Challenge, Blueberry Fest, Summer Sizzler, Congress of the Humanities, and the UBC Farm Long Table Dinner, to mention just a few.

Meet the graduates

2021

Robert Scudamore
First Cook, Residence Dining
Notably, Robert also achieved his Red Seal in Baking to go along with his new Red Seal in Cooking.

2022

Raycine Mattison
First Cook, Residence Dining

Leticia Mestiza Urbina
First Cook, Residence Dining

Alice Sohn
Second Cook, Sage

Julienne Ballitoc
First Cook, Residence Dining

Angelita Quadra
First Cook, Residence Dining
Notably, Angelita entered the program as a Third Cook and received two promotions to become the First Cook that she is today.

A unique program at UBC

By completing their apprenticeship with UBC Food Services, apprentices have the opportunity to work in many different aspects of the business all right here at UBC, including restaurants, catering, food trucks, the bake shop and residence dining. They also have the opportunity to participate in culinary field trips such as supplier tours, a cheese making experience, and a three-day practicum at the UBC Farm.

Program Background

The UBC Culinary Apprenticeship program supports and empowers accepted candidates to deepen their culinary knowledge and become certified Red Seal chefs. Mentorship and leadership training, and unique food system experiences are also provided. The program goals are twofold: a 100% success rate (all apprentices achieve Red Seal certification); and our apprentices become future culinary leaders. Since we expect all our culinarians (First Cooks and above) to possess a Red Seal certification, it is critical that we support our internal staff with the opportunity to achieve that goal.