School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts 

For Students interested in Hospitality Management

• Hotel front office operations and procedures
• How to create a well-designed menu
• How to develop successful marketing plans
• How to design, plan, and execute successful events for any sized group 
• Identify and evaluate the quality of beer and environmental sustainability in modern beer production

For Students interested in Culinary Arts:

• Industry-standard knowledge and skills regarding sanitation and safety procedures

• Techniques required of cooks, chefs and pastry chefs

• How to manage food and labor costs

For Students earning a degree/certificate in Hospitality Management, job titles include:

• Hotel Front Office Manager
• Restaurant Manager
• Meeting and Event Planner
• Banquet Coordinator
• Assistant Brewer
• Brewing Equipment Operator

For Students earning a degree/certificate in Culinary Arts, job titles include:

• Chef
• Sous Chef
• Pastry Chef
• Line Cook
• Kitchen Manager

In 2001, Allegany College of Maryland received a federal grant to enable our hospitality-related programs to relocate to the Gateway Center in downtown Cumberland.  The ACM School of Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts was born.

We envisioned a facility that would provide students with real-life work experience while earning college credit.  We have become an active participant in the revitalization of downtown through the operation of the popular 120-seat Culinaire Café.  Students develop skills in food production, costing, service, marketing, purchasing, and all other aspects of managing a foodservice operation.  This is a true learning lab and one that is unique when compared to other colleges with similar programs.  In addition, we work to customize internship experiences for the Hospitality Management students as they earn college credit while completing hands-on training in area hotels and resorts.

We’ve grown bigger and better throughout the years and now offer not only two Associate of Applied Science degrees, but five certificates as well.  Our students often elect to earn multiple degrees and/or certificates at the same time which opens up even more opportunities for careers.  The hospitality industry is one of the world’s largest, and includes everything from hotels/resorts to restaurants to catering/event production companies to healthcare dietetics departments.  Jobs are plentiful and exist everywhere as more communities develop tourism as their major economic focus. 

The Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts curricula at ACM have been designated as Statewide Programs by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.  Maryland residents from counties other than Allegany who register in these programs will be charged the out-of-county tuition rate.  However, these students may be eligible to receive reimbursement for a portion of the cost difference between the in-county and out-of-county tuition rates.

Our mission is to be responsive to community and regional demand by providing hands-on, skills-based education that prepares individuals to obtain leadership roles in the global hospitality and culinary industries.

Our vision is to be recognized as the premier regional provider of hospitality and culinary education by emphasizing contemporary, skills-based curricula in a nurturing and student-focused environment.

We actively strive to create an environment where everyone feels welcomed, respected, and appreciated. We value:

• Service
• Collaboration
• Professionalism
• Leadership
• Civic Engagement