What is Team NAIT?

Culinary Team NAIT is a group of NAIT Culinary Arts students and instructors that competes at the regional, national and international levels. Team NAIT also collaborates with Team Alberta and Team Canada.

Student members prepare for competition through extracurricular training. They learn to refine the skills they are taught in class and how to work in a team environment. Team members are also expected to participate in fundraising for trips. Fundraising activities include:

  • researching new recipes for organizations
  • setting up product demonstrations
  • hosting gourmet dinners

Recent history

Team NAIT has won many honours, most recently they took home 2 gold and 2 silver medals at the 2012 Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany in October. They also came home with 3 silvers, and 4 bronzes at Emirates Salon Culinaire in Dubai, which ran in February 2012. Other competitions Culinary Team NAIT has participated in have been very successful, starting with winning 4 silver and 6 bronze at HOFEX 2011 in Hong Kong. Every member of Team NAIT brought home a medal from both the Escoffier Society competition in Toronto in March 2010 and the FHA2010 Culinary Challenge in Singapore April 20 - 23, 2010.

Our mission

To promote local, regional and international goodwill and camaraderie through friendly culinary competition, and to advance culinary and employability skills through training, teamwork and networking.


Benefits of membership

  • outstanding professional culinary experiences
  • opportunities to network and exchange ideas with culinary professionals around the world
  • increased culinary knowledge through international competitions
  • increased awareness of innovative culinary technology

Joining Team NAIT

Instructors select students for the team based on:

  • skill
  • creativity
  • attitude
  • desire
  • dedication
  • participation
  • ability to work in a team environment

The number of students chosen each year depends on the number of suitable candidates.