Is the Master in Culinary Industry Management a cooking course?

No. It assumes culinary craft is already in your background and focuses on the commercial, supply-chain, quality and leadership side of running food businesses.

Do I need a culinary bachelor's degree to apply for the Master in Culinary Industry Management?

Not strictly. Related degrees in hospitality, food science, business or related fields are considered. Significant industry experience strengthens an application.

Will the Master in Culinary Industry Management help me run my own restaurant group?

It is built with that kind of operator in mind. The programme spends real time on cost control, supply chain, quality systems and people leadership at multi-site scale.

Does the programme cover food safety and HACCP at industry level?

Yes — food safety and quality systems are core to industry-level management, although formal HACCP certification is awarded by the appropriate certification body, not by the degree.

Can the master's be studied part-time?

Many learners study part-time alongside operations roles. The exact mode is confirmed at enrolment.

How is the master's assessed?

Assessment is a mix of applied coursework, case analysis and a capstone or dissertation depending on the intake. Specifics are issued in your enrolment pack.

Master in Culinary Industry Management | HICL London | Harold International College of London

Master in Culinary Industry Management at HICL

Running a kitchen well is one thing. Running a multi-site restaurant group, a hotel F&B portfolio or a contract-catering operation is a quite different problem. The Master in Culinary Industry Management is built for chefs and food professionals who have spent enough time on the line to know how kitchens really behave, and who now want the commercial, supply-chain and quality-systems literacy to lead at the business level.

This is not a cookery course. There is little new in here about searing technique or pastry. The Master in Culinary Industry Management treats culinary craft as known territory and pushes into where it intersects with procurement, food safety, brand, cost control and people leadership.

What 'industry management' actually means in food

Food businesses fail more often on management than on cooking. Mismatched menu engineering, poorly controlled wastage, the wrong supplier mix, weak HACCP discipline, or hiring practices that burn through brigade in six months — these are the recurring problems. The master's spends real time on them, because that is what graduates will be solving in head-office or executive-chef roles after they finish.

Who This Master's Is For

Head chefs and executive chefs moving towards group-level or operations roles.
F&B managers in hotel and resort settings stepping up to director-level responsibility.
Restaurant owners and concept founders wanting structured industry-management thinking.
Food-service operations and quality managers in catering, retail and contract-foodservice groups.

Where graduates of the Master in Culinary Industry Management typically go

Typical progression includes group executive chef, F&B operations director, culinary operations manager, quality and food-safety lead, and concept or development chef roles within multi-site groups. Some graduates apply the Master in Culinary Industry Management to their own businesses — opening or scaling restaurants, dark kitchens or catering operations of their own. Outcomes depend on the breadth of operational experience graduates already bring.

How the programme is delivered

Sessions blend case-based teaching, supply-chain analysis, financial review of food businesses, and applied projects. Where kitchen visits, audits or supplier review form part of the programme, format is confirmed at enrolment because facility access varies by intake.

Entry requirements

A relevant bachelor's degree in culinary arts, hospitality, food science, business or a related field.
Significant industry experience is strongly recommended given the seniority of the content.
IELTS 6.0 or equivalent for non-native English speakers.
A short professional statement is encouraged at application.

Apply for the Master in Culinary Industry Management

If you have spent years in kitchens or F&B and want a postgraduate qualification pointed at running food businesses rather than running stations, click Enroll Now. HICL admissions will respond within one working day.