Students must learn a variety of skills to become proficient in culinary professions.
Classes in culinary schools prepare a student for a career in food preparation, restaurant management or hospitality education. Although culinary schools vary in their coursework curriculum, there are certain main courses that all culinary students must take to become educated, well-rounded and prepared to work in a culinary profession. The titles of these courses may vary depending on the school but the essentials are the same.
Food Service Fundamentals
Students must learn proper storage temperatures for foods in a restaurant setting.
Culinary students must learn basic culinary skills before they proceed to other classes. These skills include learning correct refrigeration and cooking temperatures, prepping work areas, working with food service equipment, safety and first aid essentials and the practice of maintaining a properly sanitized kitchen.
Soups and Sauces
A good chef needs to know make a wide variety of soups and sauces.
Sauces are the basis for many recipes so it is essential for students to learn these at the beginning of the coursework. There are hundreds of sauces to learn but the most basic would include veloute, bechamel, tomato and Hollandaise sauces.
Soups are the starters for many meals and many of the ingredients and methodology are the same as for sauces so the two are taught together in most schools. Basic soup coursework would include learning to prepare a good soup stock and becoming familiar of many of the popular domestic and ethnic soups in demand.
Baking and Pastries
Pastry students will learn make elegant wedding cakes.
Coursework in the essentials of bread making, the different types of breads, pastry composition, chocolate and candy making, fillings, and cake decorating are required to become proficient as a pastry chef or head chef. Honing these skills will assist students in finding positions at hotels, restaurants, casinos, cruise ships, bakeries or private clubs.
Menu Planning
A balanced menu will include both expensive and inexpensive items.
Learning write, lay out, price and execute a well-balanced menu for both a simple restaurant and a five-star establishment is a vital skill for the accomplished food service professional. Knowing who your food audience is and planning foods specifically for their enjoyment is an art that can carry a chef or hospitality manager far in his career.
International Foods
A chef must be proficient in preparing many types of international fare.
To satisfy a multitude of appetites, culinary graduates must know prepare a wide variety of international foods including French cuisine, Mexican favorites, Greek specialties and Italian basics, among others. All are very different as to seasonings, methods of cooking and ingredients. This knowledge is a must for a student interested in becoming a chef at any major restaurant, casino, private club or hotel dining room.
Purchasing and Administration
Knowledge of food product purchasing, counting and maintaining inventories and calculating food costs are all necessary in running an efficient kitchen. Purchase orders, taking vendor bids and purchasing kitchen equipment are also necessary skills to learn in culinary classes.
Hospitality Management
Front-of-the-house skills can assist greatly with back-of-the-house kitchen knowledge.
Even those students who plan on becoming a chef must learn the basics of wines, dining room service and server training. This knowledge will assist the student in knowing work as part of a team in future positions. Many culinary schools will have an actual working kitchen and restaurant where students rotate through the different positions to learn all aspects of the food service operation.
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