Frequently Asked Questions

Click here ENROLL. This link will take you directly to our application form.

Anyone that loves food and traveling: food artisans, culinary students, professional cooks, bakers, farmers, butchers, entrepreneurs, home cooks, amateurs, and aficionados. No previous knowledge or training are necessary for any of our courses.

At the Artisan Culinary School we speak English, and all lessons are dictated by fluent English speaking chefs and instructors. Aside from English, all our instructors are fluent in at least two other languages. If we invite outside instructors, guest chefs, or local artisans, that don’t handle the terminology in English, we provide simultaneous translation during his/her lessons. During any planned school visit, excursion, or dinner out, an ACS staff member, fluent in both English and Spanish accompanies the group at all times. Hablamos Español. Parliamo in Italiano. Nous parlons francais.

You can sign up for any course up until the day before the course starts, this will be possible if there are still any available places.

1. Browse our Courses section.
2. Click Enroll
3. Fill the application form and hit SUBMIT APPLICATION.
4. You will receive a personalized e-mail in less than 48 hours, notifying you of our availability and the following steps for payment.
5. Pay the course fees.
6. Receive the welcome letter along with the course materials and a payment receipt.

Be at least 18 years old, if attending by yourself, or be a minimum of 16 years of age if attending with one of your parents/guardian. (The parent/guardian must also be a course participant, and must sign the written permission letter and a waiver before attending.)

Students from some countries are required to obtain a tourist visa to enter European or Spanish territory. If that is your case, you must obtain all necessary documents to request your visa before the Spanish authorities at Consulates and Embassies in your own country. For stays over 90 days in European territory, people from most nationalities will need a long stay visa. ACS will provide letters and school’s legal documents if directly requested by Spanish authorities. If you have any doubts or inquiries regarding these issues, please send an email to info@artisanculinaryschool.com.

People from all over the world come to ACS courses, of all ages and backgrounds, including food enthusiasts, culinary students and professionals, food artisans, farmers, entrepreneurs, dairy experts and cheesemongers, butchers and meat experts, bakers and pastry chefs.

When you sign up for any course at ACS, we will provide you with a custom ACS chef jacket, work coat, or work shirt (depending on the course), an apron and a hat, before your first lesson. We kindly ask you to wear them at all times during practical and theory lessons. Additional to the uniform provided by ACS, it is mandatory to wear long pants (preferably black), and closed anti-slip shoes for your protection inside the kitchen and lab. During hands-on lessons we kindly ask that you remove any jewelry or wrist watch from your hands.

For each course we take a maximum of 14 students.

Yes, at ACS you can get 3 types of certificates.

CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION
If you attend at least 80% of the lessons of any given course, and the instructor(s) deem your participation has been suitable, you will receive a participation certificate for that course, signed by the school’s director and the instructors involved in the lessons.

ACS ARTISAN SPECIALIST CERTIFICATE
Those students that attend at least one course in each of the ACS areas of specialization, i.e. Basic Cooking and Pastry, Artisan Breads and Pastry, Artisan Conserves, Artisan Meats, and Artisan Dairy and Cheese, will receive an ACS Artisan Specialist certificate, a silver ACS pin and a personalized chef jacket.

ACS ARTISAN MASTER CERTIFICATE
Those students that have attended all ACS regular courses are invited to receive the ACS Artisan Master certificate, honorary jacket, and a gold ACS pin.

We highly encourage all of our students to take as many pictures and videos they need to keep visual references from their experience at ACS. If you are willing to share your experience at School on social media, we kindly ask that you tag us if you post pictures or videos to your social media account using the following hashtags:
#ArtisanCulinarySchool #ACScooks.
Our social media accounts are:
Instagram: @artisanculinaryschool
Facebook: Artisan Culinary School
Youtube: Artisan Culinary School
Linked-in: Artisan Culinary School (Business profile)
May we respectfully remind you that all pictures, video, media content, and text must comply with each social media platform’s terms of use. The ACS reserves the right to untag the school’s social media profile from a post if we deem the content goes against our policies and values, and to go to the extent of reporting it to the social media administrators if it goes against their terms of use and policies.

During courses school is open from 08:00 h to 22:00 h from Monday to Friday. During course season Saturdays and Sundays are departure and arrival days.
LESSONS
In general, lessons start at 08.00 h and end at 18:00 h. These times may change for special lessons, and depending on the group’s dynamics. You will informed of all schedule details during the orientation session before the course starts, and our staff will notify you of any changes.
WEEKENDS AT ACS
On Saturdays, school is open until the last student leaves. Breakfast is, as usual, from 07:00 h to 10:00 h at the hotel. For those with late departures we usually hold a complimentary light lunch at 13:00 h. On Sundays, school is open from 13:00 h, when we host a complimentary light lunch for those with early arrivals. Check in at the hotel starts at 14:00 h. At 19:00 h we gather with the whole group and have a quick Orientation session, and at 19:30 h we officially start the course by having dinner together.
If a student remains at ACS during the weekend because is attending two or more consecutive courses, all meals and accommodations are included at no additional cost.

If traveling by plane to ACS you should arrive at Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, IATA: ALC.

If traveling by train to ACS you should arrive at Alicante Terminal (Alacant Terminal or RENFE station). Alicante is connected by high speed railway (AVE) to Madrid and Barcelona.

Yes, all our students stay at a local hotel throughout the duration of the course. The price for the course includes an exclusive room with en-suite bathroom for your private use with all the usual amenities for a 3+star hotel. If your stay should be any longer than the duration of the course, please contact our Client Relations liaison by sending an email to mariana@artisanculinaryschool.com. We can help you with local hotel reservations for better pricing.

Yes, all land transports are included in the price of the course, as stated in each course itinerary. Once you arrive to Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, or Alicante Terminal (Alacant Terminal or RENFE station), there will be a driver waiting for you to bring you to school. Transports are included during the course, for any visit, dinner out, cultural visit, or local excursion organized by the school. At the end of the course, our drivers will take you to Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, or Alicante Terminal (Alacant Terminal or RENFE station).

As stated before, during lesson hours you are kindly asked to wear the work uniform at all times, unless we head out for a visit, or an excursion. Outside of the kitchen and the work laboratories jeans are accepted everywhere, we keep it light and informal, however keep in mind weather information when packing. On the last night of every course we go out for dinner and celebrate the course’s ending, you are invited to dress accordingly.

During some of our courses, we visit the local Mercado Municipal (the local public market). This is a great place to get fresh fruits, vegetables, canned conserves, cheese, and cured meats you may want to enjoy during your free time. Close to where the school and the hotel are, you can find several supermarkets and shops. You can also find pharmacies, tobacco and liquor shops walking distance.
ACS CUSTOM SUPPLIES
At school you may acquire ACS products from a wide selection. Our custom products include: t-shirts, hoodies and rain jackets, insulated water bottles, coffee and tea mugs, tote bags, umbrellas, various notebooks, pens, etc.

All meals are included during the course, as stated in each course itinerary. Wine and water are also included.

Breakfast
Breakfast and coffee service are served every day from 07:00 h to 10:00 h.

Lunch and Dinner
Lunch and dinner are served every day at school. Chefs and instructors will notify the group about service times. Schedules can and will change according to group dynamics. If a course schedules free days, meals are also included, we kindly ask to be notified beforehand if you will not be joining the group during those meals. We also have an open coffee & tea bar all throughout the duration of the course.
Some of our courses include a dinner at a local restaurant. This scheduled dinner, and transportation to the venue, are also included in the price. During these occasions there will be either a set menu with wine pairing, or an a la carte menu with a previously chosen wine. Additional food, wine, and alcoholic drinks you may wish to order will generate an extra charge for you.

If you decide to go out on your own, we can recommend excellent local options.

At the school’s bar, we have a water filter where you can fill up your flask or personal water bottle. We do not serve water in plastic bottles, our school is committed to fighting pollution and unnecessary waste.

Wine is included for some lunches and all dinners, and each person is allotted 1/2 of a bottle of wine per meal, according to Spanish practice and culture. Our sommelier has a list of the wines we have in house, we vary the wine choice according to each meal served. If we happen to grill or have a pizza night during your course, we will also offer you the choice of drinking high quality local beer for that evening.

At the time of your sign-up for one of our courses, you are asked to provide us with information regarding any dietary restrictions, food allergies, or intolerances you may have. We will accommodate your particular needs, but we ask you to communicate with us in anticipation to the course to be able to better prepare for your stay with us.

Please bear in mind we are able to accommodate students and guests with certain dietary restrictions, medically motivated, but we will decline your participation in the course if we deem we are not able to protect you from the source of your allergy or intolerance, or if we consider your health and/or life could be at risk at our school.

Our school is not suited to tend to people with: severe gluten allergy or celiac disease, severe nut allergy, severe fish and shellfish allergy, severe milk and dairy allergy, and severe egg allergy.

You may choose between two options to pay for courses at ACS.

1. SINGLE PAYMENT OPTION
You may choose to pay the entire balance at the time of enrollment. If so, the payment will be refundable until 60 days before the start of the course, minus an administrative fee of €750,00. If the student cancels less than 30 days before the start of the course, only 50% of the whole amount will be refundable.

2. MULTIPLE PAYMENTS OPTION
The following is a multiple payments plan any students may choose to opt for.
Concept Timeframe Amount (€)
Reservation deposit. At the time you enroll. €750,00
50% of the amount due. At least 90 days before the course date. €1.000,00
100% of the course price. At least 60 days before the course date. €1.000,00

Reservation deposit
If you decide to opt for the Multiple Payment Plan, a deposit of €750,00 per student is required at the time of enrollment. This deposit is non refundable if the student decides to indefinitely cancel their attendance to the selected course. If the student decides to postpone their attendance to the course, these €750,00 are still valid up to a maximum of two years after the initial enrollment.

First payment
90 days before the course start date, each student must make a payment equivalent to 50% of the amount due. This payment is 100% refundable if the student cancels their attendance to the course before the next payment is due (at least 60 days prior to the start of the course); if the student cancels their attendance to the course after the next payment is due, only 50% of this payment is refundable; if the student cancels their attendance less than 60 days before the start of the course, this payment will not be refundable.

Second payment
60 days before the course start date, each student must make a payment to achieve 100% of the amount due. This payment is not refundable if the student cancels their attendance to the course less than 30 days before the start of the course.

We accept Visa and MasterCard, ATM/debit card, PayPal, and direct money transfers through your bank (plus any commission applicable).

All prices and fees on our website are stated in Euros (€).

The prices stated on our website for the culinary courses are per person on a single occupancy rate.

The price of each course includes the following:

• Transport to and from airport or train station to the school by private motor-coach.
• Full room and board for the duration of the course. All meals are included,
with water and wine .*
• All lessons, theory and practical, as described in the course itinerary.
• Course booklet/manual, note pad and pens.
• Custom ACS chef's jacket or work shirt, apron and a hat.
• All course work materials.
• Access to School’s online community.
• Dinner out at a local restaurant.
• Certificate of participation

The price does not include the following:

• Administrative procedures and travel visa costs
• Travel insurance
• Personal shopping and personal expenses before, during and after the course. Amongst many, these may be:

- Hotel mini bar, snacks and beverages.
- Hotel telephone, fax, or paid internet service (other than the free Wi-Fi provided at the hotel and the school).
- Pay-per-view TV service and movie rental.
- Laundry and professional dry cleaning services.

• Meals and beverages not explicitly stated in the course itinerary, or those indicated by the school.
• Tickets, access and entrance fees, other than the ones specified in the course itinerary.
• Transports and travel other than those clearly stated in the course itinerary.

Students that enroll for two consecutive courses will receive a 10% discount on the second course. Those students that enroll for more than 2 consecutive courses will receive further discounts, for details and enquiries please contact us at info@artisanculinaryschool.com.

ACS is able to accommodate groups of up to 14 students at a time. We are able to coordinate custom courses for your organization. If you represent a school, academy, or college, please contact us for a bespoke culinary course, logistics and pricing information, at info@artisanculinaryschool.com.

Yes, if you refer any other student to ACS regular and essential courses, you apply for discounts and promotional bonuses for future ACS courses. For more information regarding referrals, please contact us at info@artisanculinaryschool.com.