Culinary Industry Talent Association
Join culinary employers across Indiana in developing the cooks, chefs, and kitchen leaders your industry needs.
A Culinary Talent Pipeline Built by Employers
Indiana culinary employers face a persistent workforce challenge: finding experienced cooks, chefs, and kitchen managers while building the next generation of talent.
Restaurant cooks are among Indiana’s fastest-growing occupations by jobs added, and the state expects to add more than 10,000 food preparation and serving jobs by 2034. At the same time, many young people enter the industry without seeing the long-term career opportunities available to them.
Led by Hospitality Indiana, the Culinary Industry Talent Association (ITA) brings employers together through INCAP to develop structured training that prepares the next generation of culinary talent to employer-defined standards, beginning in high school, while creating clearer pathways from entry-level work to positions with greater skill and responsibility.
Employers participate to:
- Build a stronger pipeline of trained culinary talent
- Help define the skills and competencies future employees need
- Create clearer pathways into culinary careers
- Shape training around the realities of today’s kitchens
Turning Employer Demand Into Programs
Hospitality Indiana is bringing culinary employers together to identify workforce needs and determine which occupations the Culinary ITA should develop. Employers will help define the competencies for those occupations and shape training around the needs of professional kitchens and other food service operations.
Culinary employers are already helping shape INCAP training. Huse Culinary, the restaurant group behind St. Elmo Steak House, Harry & Izzy’s, and other restaurant concepts, helped shape the competencies in the first training plan. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation reviewed the plan and approved its alignment with industry standards.
Hospitality Operations Specialist is an Apprenticeship Program developed through the Hospitality Industry Talent Association, also led by Hospitality Indiana. The program includes food service settings and incorporates ServSafe Food Protection Manager and ServSafe Allergens credentials, so restaurants and other food service operations can host apprentices beginning with the first cohort in August 2027.
What’s Coming Next
Culinary Occupations Being Explored
A dedicated back-of-house culinary pathway is a priority for future development. Employers are helping determine whether that should be one broad pathway or several programs focused on specific occupations.
Additional areas being explored include:
- Baking and pastry
- Institutional dining, including hospitals, senior living, schools, and campuses
- Quick service and multi-unit operations
- Foodservice distribution
- Sommelier and beverage as an adult Career Program
Adult versions of additional culinary programs are also expected to be developed over time.
Don’t see the occupation your organization needs? Contact the Culinary ITA to share your workforce needs and help identify priorities for future development.
Why Build Your Talent Pipeline Through INCAP?
Build the Skills Your Kitchen Needs
Rather than each employer developing training independently, culinary employers can work together through the Culinary ITA to define the skills and standards that matter across the industry.
Employers have an opportunity to:
- Help determine which culinary occupations are developed
- Define the competencies apprentices need to succeed in professional kitchens
- Shape training around real workplace expectations and industry standards
- Develop future employees through structured education and paid workplace experience
Build Talent That Sees a Future in Culinary
Many young people who enter a kitchen see the job in front of them, not necessarily where that job can lead. Yet nine out of ten restaurant managers began in entry-level positions.
INCAP gives employers a way to make that career progression more visible while developing employees around industry-defined skills and standards. For employers, that means an opportunity to build a pipeline of people who understand that an entry-level culinary position can be the beginning of a longer career.
Help Shape What Comes Next
Bring Your Workforce Needs to the Table
The Culinary ITA is actively seeking employer input as it develops future programs.
Hospitality Indiana is hosting employer information sessions around the state and online and forming employer working groups to help determine which culinary occupations should be developed next and what competencies and training they should include.
Help Build Indiana’s Culinary Talent Pipeline
Hospitality Indiana leads the Culinary Industry Talent Association. Contact the ITA to learn about hosting Hospitality Operations Specialist apprentices in 2027 or to help determine which culinary occupations are developed next.
Amber Kincaid
INCAP Hospitality Program Manager, Hospitality Indiana