4TH STREET MARKET. ORANGE COUNTY, CA
Learn inside
a working
food hub.
Skip the debt‑heavy, two‑year detour. Train like a pro inside a real food hub, then use those skills to get hired or start building your own thing.
The Next Evolution Of Culinary Training.
The Next Evolution Of Culinary Training.
The Next Evolution Of Culinary Training.
Co-Lab is not a traditional culinary school. It’s where you go to train with real chefs, learn inside a working food hall, and build the skills— and the business—you’ve always wanted. No fluff. No $60K tuition. No fantasy kitchens.
We combine the education side and the business side into one cohesive experience—because great cooks and great operators aren’t two different people. They’re you.
PROFESSIONAL CULINARY EXPERIENCES
Hands-on, chef-led training built for people who want to cook like they work the line. Technique, context, and real-kitchen pace — without two years of theory.
REAL KITCHEN, REAL PACE. NO CARPETED CLASSROOM.
Train inside active kitchens and our food hall, where tickets stack and time actually matters. Apprentice-style kitchen labs that build instinct, speed, and confidence.
FROM LEARNING TO LEADING YOUR OWN FOOD BUSINESS
The Food Founder's Playbook gives you the six- system business framework used by operators, CPG founders, and food entrepreneurs to scale from idea to real revenue.
Where Skill Meets Reality
Culinary Training
Without The Culinary-
School Baggage.
Our programs are built for people who learn by doing. You get pro-level technique and real-world context, without the tuition bomb or the two-year waiting game.
- Zero textbook fluff — learn through chef demos, hands-on labs, and video you can replay.
- Less lecture, more fire — your time is spent cooking, tasting, and repeating.
- Optional partner-kitchen visits — see how real brigades move during actual service.
- Guest chefs and field visits keep you plugged into the actual industry.
Pastry & Baking
Pastry Training for People Who
Actually Want to Bake.
Pastry Training for People Who Actually Want to Bake.
If desserts are your obsession, we give you a place to treat them like serious work—not a side note in a giant generic program. Structured labs designed to build precision, repetition, and the discipline bakeries hire for.
- — No sleepy lecture halls — from day one you're weighing, mixing, and laminating real doughs.
- — Tech-driven support with video-backed resources you can replay at any time.
- — Optional time in partner bakeries at production scale.
Now enrolling. Spots fill up fast.
Transform Your Passion Into a Real Food Business.
Co-Lab lives inside 4th Street Market — 8,000+ sq ft of working culinary space where food concepts launch, test, and evolve every month. Your instructors aren’t behind a desk. They’re active chefs, operators, and founders running real kitchens under real pressure.
Transform Your Passion Into a Real Food Business.
Co-Lab lives inside 4th Street Market — 8,000+ sq ft of working culinary space where food concepts
launch, test, and evolve every month. Your instructors aren’t behind a desk. They’re active chefs, operators,
and founders running real kitchens under real pressure.
Transform Your Passion Into a Real Food Business.
Co-Lab lives inside 4th Street Market — 8,000+ sq ft of working culinary space where food concepts launch, test, and evolve every month. Your instructors aren’t behind a desk. They’re active chefs, operators, and founders running real kitchens under real pressure.
NO FLUFF. just FLAVOR.
The Real Difference
We ditched the classroom. Because chefs aren't made behind desks.
We built a legit, state-approved culinary school. Then we realized the old model is broken: long programs, huge price tags, and very little flexibility for real life. So we shut that down and built Co-Lab.
The Real Difference
We ditched the classroom. Because chefs aren't made behind desks.
We built a legit, state-approved culinary school. Then we realized the old model is broken: long programs, huge price tags, and very little flexibility for real life. So we shut that down and built Co-Lab.
Traditional Culinary School
- 2+ year programs
- $40K–$100K+ tuition
- Theory-heavy curriculum
- Fantasy kitchen settings
- Outdated industry connections
- Degree that doesn't guarantee work
VS
Co-Lab
- Short-form, stackable experiences
- Up to 95% cheaper
- Hands-on, real-kitchen training
- Live food hall environment
- Active chefs, operators, founders
- Skills + a path toward owning your work
Our Team
Meet the culinary operators and business experts shaping your learning experiences.
Chef Instructors
Briana Bielucke
Director of Education /
Pastry Chef Instructor
Chef TC
Culinary Chef Instructor
Chef Jacky
Pastry Chef Instructor
Chef Jason
Culinary Chef Instructor
Admissions Advisors
Curtis
Admissions Team Leader
Breana
Admissions Advisor
Aaron K.
Admissions Advisor
Sarah
Home Cook Manager / Sales Advisor
Aaron A.
Events & Apprenticeship Manager
Business Growth Experts
MORGAN
Business Advisor
ARMANDO
Marketing & Brand Strategist
Alexz
Digital Media Manager
Food Founder's Playbook
Learn to Cook.
Then Learn to Build.
Most schools will happily train you to be good labor. We’d rather show you how to become the person signing the checks. The Food Founder’s Playbook is our guided business-build track — using a six-system framework to turn chaos into a plan.
- — Built for cooks, bakers, and operators who feel the bottlenecks: no time, no margin, no clear next step
- — Six-system framework: marketing, sales, operations, finance, team, customer service.
- — Move from idea, pop-ups, or early sales into a launch-ready business model.
Now enrolling. Spots fill up fast.
Food Founder's Playbook
Learn to Cook.
Then Learn to Build.
Most schools will happily train you to be good labor. We’d rather show you how to become the person signing the checks. The Food Founder’s Playbook is our guided business-build track — using a six-system framework to turn chaos into a plan.
- — Built for cooks, bakers, and operators who feel the bottlenecks: no time, no margin, no clear next step
- — Six-system framework: marketing, sales, operations, finance, team, customer service.
- — Move from idea, pop-ups, or early sales into a launch-ready business model.
Now enrolling. Spots fill up fast.
Connect
Get in Touch
Ready to train where it’s real? Whether you’re curious about programs, interested in our food founder track, or want to connect with our team — start here.
-
201 E 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Located inside 4th Street Market (4SM)