Certificate IV in Kitchen Management

The Certificate IV in Kitchen Management (SIT40521) reflects the role of chefs and cooks who take on a supervisory or team-leading role in the kitchen. Graduates operate independently or with limited guidance, using discretion to solve non-routine problems, and the qualification provides a pathway to work in restaurants, hotels, clubs, pubs, cafes and coffee shops, or to run a small hospitality business.

The course covers around 30 units of competency spanning core cookery techniques (stocks, sauces, poultry, meat, seafood, desserts, cakes and pastries), special dietary requirements, menu design and costing, recipe development, rostering and people leadership, budgeting, conflict management, food safety programs, and stock control.

At Spencer College the qualification is delivered over 68 weeks of classroom-based study (including up to 13 weeks of holiday breaks), combining face-to-face and online lectures/workshops with practical kitchen activities. Students must attend a minimum of 20 hours class time per week to meet Student Visa requirements, and the course includes mandatory work-based training of at least 384 hours over 48 weeks in an operational commercial kitchen; distance learning is not offered.

Entry requires applicants to be 18 years or over with basic computer skills and a minimum Year 12 education (or equivalent). International and student-visa applicants must also meet IELTS 6 (or equivalent), demonstrate English proficiency, or achieve Spencer College's own ACSF test level 3.