Congratulations to our 2024 Food Services’ Culinary Apprenticeship Program graduate!
“Ligaya has successfully completed the culinary apprenticeship program in 2024 and is now a certified Red Seal Cook.
“Over a three year period, Ligaya worked over 5,000 hours under my supervision and excelled both in the classroom and on the job.
“Her hard work and dedication not only helped her achieve her goal of earning her Red Seal, but she also rose through the ranks within the kitchens at UBC to take on her current leadership role as First Cook.
“Ligaya works in residence dining at Open Kitchen, where she is an asset to the team. Since completing the culinary apprenticeship program she continues to excel in the kitchen and is a role model for the next generation of UBC culinary apprentices.
“We are honoured to have Ligaya on our team and are proud of her accomplishments.”
— David Speight, Executive Chef and Culinary Director, Food Services
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, 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, along with 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.
