This course will teach students creative and business writing as it applies to the culinary field. This course will explore writing techniques for job applications, responses to complaints, restaurant reviews, marketing, social media, and food blogging. Students will be provided the opportunity to develop their skills through a series of in-class exercises and industry-specific assignments.
A chef needs to understand wine and its importance in enhancing a customer’s food experience as well as its contribution to the profitability of a restaurant. This course will introduce students to key grape varietals and explore the stylistic differences both between and within varietals based on region. Students will learn important principles of wine and food pairing, and will explore how wines may complement certain dishes, ingredients, and cooking methods. Students will also learn to take professional tasting notes and practice blind tasting.
This course introduces the basic principles, philosophies, and values of service theory and practice in the hospitality industry.
Students will learn the requirements needed to provide superior service to their guests, and why service is an integral part of a restaurant’s success. Students will develop and hone service skills through practice and examination in both a simulated and realtime restaurant service settings.
In this course, students learn the basic rules of personal hygiene, the necessity of maintaining a clean establishment, how to maintain kitchen and tabletop equipment, and assess the nature and dangers of chemical cleaning agents and pesticides.
Students will learn to work in a safe manner so as to prevent accidents or injuries. Students will learn to identify the causes of food poisoning and the means of eliminating the dangers of food contamination and poisoning in a restaurant environment. Students will gain a working knowledge of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) Sanitation Code and its application in the industry.
Recipe Specs, as they are known, will teach students how to analyze a recipe according to a recipe goal. Students will learn to analyze and identify ‘watch points’ during the dish’s preparation that may influence the result upon plating. Recipes that best illustrate the weekly method of cooking are pre-selected, and students are required to submit written specifications on these recipes and on the cooking method itself. This exercise is the foundation for Level Two Restaurant Labs, where the same approach is used to understand a full menu and its execution.
This component will provide students with a basic understanding of modern nutritional theory and its application to menu planning in today’s restaurants. Students will learn to modify nutrient content in menus by making adjustments to portion sizes, products, and cooking methods. Beginning with the dietary guidelines for Canadians, students will learn to identify the sources of the major nutrients in the diet and will understand the relationship between nutrition and health. Students will be required to plan menus that demonstrate both an understanding of modern nutritional theory and marketability in the restaurant.
This course introduces students to a more comprehensive understanding of cookery foundations by surveying the evolution of food habits at key moments in history. By examining the ingredients, technologies, tools, and cookery methods used, students will begin to understand that our ancestors were keen to explore as many tastes and seasonings as their circumstances allowed. In addition to lecture, each student will cook a primary-source recipe in order to engage with the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and practicalities of pre-modern cookery. By approaching history through the lens of food, students will gain awareness of the larger role that cooks and cookery play in everyday life.
This course teaches basic restaurant business skills. Students will learn to cost recipes, control overheads, and complete basic bookkeeping tasks.
This course teaches the fundamentals of the restaurant industry, ranging in date from classical French to contemporary cookery. Professionalism, basic management principles, teamwork/team building, and labour and harassment laws will be explored. Students will be introduced to basic colour theory, principles of food plating, and elements of design. Course material will be assessed in the form of a bistro project.
This class introduces students to the principles of effective public speaking and social media communication. Students will learn the fundamentals of presentation design and delivery. They will present both prepared and impromptu speeches, learn how to handle Q&A sessions, and practice communicating to small groups. Students will also complete social media and short video assignments.
This class introduces the student to various food commodities and to applying their knowledge of commodities to purchasing decisions. Qualities and grades of products will be of primary importance. This class analyzes purchasing options by exploring the decisions chefs must make in selecting commodities. Evaluation will be conducted through quizzes, tests and assignments. Teaching includes lectures and guest speakers.
In this class, students study a variety of basic pastry and bread-making preparations. Through assigned readings supported by instructor demonstrations and kitchen practice, students develop the necessary knowledge and skill to complete a basic repertoire and be familiar with fundamental pastry theory.