The National Centre for Culinary Arts brings new energy to one of SAIT’s most iconic buildings. Supported by a $41-million investment from the Government of Alberta, the revitalization of the John Ware Building has transformed teaching kitchens, bakeries, living classrooms and guest-facing venues into modern spaces for learning, collaboration and culinary discovery.
For more than 75 years, SAIT has helped shape culinary talent in Alberta and beyond. This renewed facility honours that legacy while creating new ways for guests, students and industry to connect through food, hospitality and hands-on education.
Areas of interest
Learn from award-winning educators in world-class facilities, get real experience, and make industry connections. Find out more about our programs—and what makes us the number one culinary school in Canada.
Real-world experience in our living classrooms
With Supper Club by SAIT, you take the lead developing, planning, and producing every aspect of a culinary event with the guidance of faculty experts and industry guests.
You’ll get hands-on industry experience in our venues, from fine dining and a Canadian-inspired eatery to a casual diner and The Butchery, a retail meat market.
Culinary Campus
In this live (and lively) working classroom, you’ll discover global cuisine, short-order cooking, and prepare and serve meals for lunch, plus breads, pastries, sweet treats, and more.
The Highwood Kitchen + Bar
Explore modern contemporary cuisine, à la carte menus, and create daily features at the Highwood Kitchen + Bar, our first live classroom established almost 50 years ago.
Tastemarket
Part of SAIT Downtown Campus, The Tastemarket Canadian Kitchen prepares and serves dishes inspired by Canadian regional cuisine, with a focus on local ingredients.
Learn from industry leaders
Our instructors are trailblazers in the culinary industry.
They’ve sharpened their knives and skills in some of the world’s finest establishments.
Bridging the culture gap one dish at a time
Rosalyn Ediger is a SAIT grad (PCK ’05) who started her career at Calgary’s Glencoe Club. Since then, she has been Chef de Cuisine at both the Canadian Embassy in China and the Royal Danish Embassy in Ottawa. Drawing on international experience, she has also developed courses in culinary diplomacy for the School of Hospitality and Tourism.
Cutting a Path from Industry to the Classroom
For Ray Bucknell, teaching is about more than passing along nearly 30 years of industry knowledge. It is about helping students find confidence in their craft. Drawing on experience in butcher shops, wholesale supply and international advising, Ray creates a hands-on learning environment at SAIT where students can sharpen their skills and develop a lasting appreciation for the art of butchery
Where Technique, Creativity and Curiosity Come Together
After nearly 30 years in the culinary industry, Manuel Panfili knows that a great lesson can be more than a new technique. Drawing on an international career and leadership experience in acclaimed kitchens, he brings openness, curiosity and creativity into every class at SAIT. His goal is simple: for students to leave each day with something meaningful, whether that is a new skill, a fresh perspective or greater confidence in their own culinary journey.
Passion and purpose are the icing on the cake
Mary-Frances Bahun’s career has taken her from Vancouver to England, Bermuda, and back to Canada, working for 4 Seasons and Fairmont Hotels. She joined SAIT in 2017, reconnecting with other instructors she had worked with in industry. In the spring of 2025, she was a contestant on Season 11 of Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship.
Choose the culinary program that fits with your passion and career goals
Baking and Pastry Arts
Bring chemistry and imagination together to create sweet magic.
Professional Butchery
Learn specialized meat cutting and charcuterie skills, customer service, and business management.
Cook apprenticeship
Turn your passion for cooking into making meals for hotels, restaurants, and other establishments.
Culinary Arts
Train with pros to learn foundational skills, modern techniques, global cuisines, and more.
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SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.