Valencia College and Walt Disney World Partner to Teach Future Disney Chefs

Valencia College is home to Central Florida’s Walt Disney World Center for Culinary Arts & Hospitality. Many of the students who study at Valencia turn their passion for food into lifelong careers as Disney chefs.

Walt Disney World and Valencia College

Four smiling chefs in uniform stand outside the entrance of Connections Eatery restaurant.

Disney chefs and culinary Cast Members assist in combining classroom teaching with real-world experience through the Walt Disney World Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality at Valencia College. Disney provides the following to increase support for the school’s culinary program:

Cooking demos to teach new skills
Provide mentorship and lessons from Walt Disney World kitchens
Recruitment opportunities

Disney also invested $1.5 million in 2019 to help the college move its culinary arts program to Downtown Orlando

Success Stories

A smiling chef in a white uniform and black cap prepares waffles in a bright, modern kitchen at EPCOT.

While technique and skills are important, Chef Amanda, the Chef de Cuisine of Pastry at EPCOT, shared that “some of the most important insights shared are about what the future could look like after graduation.” She shared that teaching at Valencia gives that insight to potential Disney chefs. In fact, several members of her team studied and graduated from the program, including Chef Shaqori (shown above). Shaqori is currently a culinary cast member at Connections Eatery, so read her thoughts on the culinary program below, and say hello on your next EPCOT trip:

Disney chefs would always visit campus to encourage us and tell us about the opportunities we could pursue. Their lessons and visiting the parks helped me realize that I could see myself working at Walt Disney World one day. Their support became my guiding light to my career.

A smiling chef in a yellow headband and white uniform stands in a Disney Culinary professional kitchen.

A smiling chef in uniform stands in a bright, modern Disney Culinary restaurant with large windows and set tables.

Chef Molly is another former Valencia College student who turned her love for Walt Disney World into a career. As a child, she loved visiting the parks and dreamed of working for the company. As the only culinary and hospitality school in Florida that offers an associate degree in Baking and Pastry Management, Valencia College was the natural choice to pursue that career.

Molly now works at Steakhouse 71 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and had this to say about her choice of Valencia College:

I always knew that I wanted to work in baking, and I was also a huge Disney fan. My family and I were annual passholders and would visit the parks all the time to try different foods. I picked Valencia for my culinary training because I saw that Disney was partnered with them. It’s the perfect place to be if you want to do culinary and work at Disney one day.

A smiling chef in uniform puts food into a wood-fired oven with a long-handled tool in the kitchen of Ale & Compass.

Another culinary Cast Member shared her experience with the program and position at Ale & Compass Restaurant in Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

I love working for Disney because it’s given me so many chances to grow new skills and take on new opportunities. My team has been an amazing support system for me and has taught me so much about working in a kitchen and being efficient.

Chefs who graduate from Valencia College and gain employment with Walt Disney World go on to level up their skills as they work in kitchens around the resort. Read more in the post from Disney Experiences.

Do you know anyone in the culinary program at Valencia College or who are chefs at Disney? Shout them out in the comments and on social media.

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