What you need to know about Culinary Arts Institute dinners?

In the training restaurant and the professional kitchen of the Culinary Arts Institute, active preparations are underway for the upcoming first themed evening for 2023. Many of you may know us well, but at the beginning of the new season we would like to share a little more about our events and unravel details “from the kitchen”.

Who are we?

The main mission of the Culinary Arts Institute at Varna University of Management is the education of the students in our “Gastronomy and Culinary Arts” and “Hospitality and Culinary Arts” bachelor programmes.

We offer the first educational programmes in South-Eastern Europe leading to a diploma of higher education in the field of culinary arts. Moreover, all successfully graduated students receive two diplomas – one Bulgarian from Varna University of Management and one British from our strategic academic partner Cardiff Metropolitan University. The training is in English, practical-oriented and characterized by innovation, research elements and a non-traditional approach to the culinary arts.

Why do we organize these evenings?

Culinary Arts Institute offers a unique combination of academic training, hands-on experience and management skills. Students acquire important theoretical knowledge in the fields of accounting, pricing, marketing, business communications, human resource management, while also studying specialized modules such as Culinary Arts Technology, Innovation and Creativity in Culinary Arts, International Restaurant Management, Special Events Management and other.

Their practical training takes place in the professional environment of the Culinary Arts Institute under the guidance of an international team of chef-instructors with extensive practical experience.

The themed evenings at the Culinary Arts Institute are an essential element of the students’ practical training and aim to involve them as much as possible in the conditions of a real working environment.

Why do our theme nights start at different hours?

As we have already mentioned, our idea is to provide our students with conditions that are as close as possible to those of real practice. That is why the events we organize have different starting hours. The division into time intervals is done in order to recreate as accurately as possible the real atmosphere in a real restaurant where guests make reservations, arrive and leave at different times.

So don’t worry – the starting time is not tied to the end time and the duration of each unique gastronomic experience depends entirely on you!

What do we offer?

Our goal is for our students to have a full range of knowledge and skills to be effective and successful in any position in the restaurant and tourism industry. Therefore, we have provided them with a modern professional kitchen with state-of-the-art equipment, as well as a training restaurant, where nearly 30 events are organized every semester.

And to you, our regular and new visitors, we offer a unique culinary experience that you could not experience anywhere else. Each dinner includes a 4-course menu, which is announced in advance and there is no option to change on the spot. Of course, we also offer options for vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians, as well as people with various allergies and intolerances, but these details must be mentioned at the time of booking.

The themes of the events are diverse and offer gastronomic journeys to all corners of the world. Visits are made with a reservation beforehand for a specific time on our phone or through the Facebook page of the Culinary Arts Institute.

The package does not include drinks, but we maintain a limited menu with basic drinks that you can order additionally. We must warn that we may not have a variety to satisfy every taste in wines or sparkling liquids, but we are an educational establishment, not an entertainment one.

A big “Thank you” to our guests

This is the place to thank all the guests at the Culinary Arts Institute theme nights for being our companions in our mission to educate young culinary talents. With every event you attend, you become part of their growth and development process.

Thank you for your patience and understanding that the focus of everything we do is our students!

The practical training of the Culinary Arts Institute students is carried out in different directions, in order to familiarize them with the whole range of activities in the field of hospitality and culinary arts. Under the guidance of their Chef Instructors, each semester students plan and organize more than 30 thematic events, during which real clients book seats in the specially equipped training restaurant. In the course of their studies, students also get the opportunity to participate in a number of external events – exhibitions, fairs, charity events, culinary demonstrations, competitions and more, both in Bulgaria and abroad. A key advantage of studying at the Culinary Arts Institute at VUM is the opportunity to spend up to 12 months in practical training abroad and to join the teams of some of the best restaurants in the world. The University collaborates with more than 80 high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe to offer students best practices and focus them on every detail of the actual operation of the restaurant and catering business, building on the values and skills that are required for the future entrepreneurs and leaders in the food industry.