Streamline Training & Documentation: The Well-Rounded Chef

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The Well-Rounded Chef

A post from about a year-and-a-half ago details the task competencies a student of the culinary arts is expected to acquire, at least as planned in the curriculum of Long Beach City College.

Now I'd like to note the possibility open to culinary arts students to develop complementary skills in restaurant management. As explained in a November 1 New York Times article by Elaine Louie, a number of avenues for formal training in the business side of operating a restaurant are available.

The offering I've looked at most closely is a collaborative degree program offered since May 2006 by the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca NY and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), based in Hyde Park NY.

Students in the program earn a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in hotel administration and an Associate in Occupational Studies (AOS) degree in Culinary Arts. For students enrolled at CIA for the AOS degree, five or six semesters are required at Cornell to earn the accompanying BS. For Cornell students, the AOS and BS degrees can both be earned in four years, during which time about nine months are spent at CIA. (Students can also opt for an AOS in Baking and Pastry Arts, in which case they must spend a bit of additional time to complete the collaborative program's required coursework.)

At Cornell, students learn about how to lead foodservice operations, taking such courses as Culinary Theory and Practice; Restaurant Management; Specialty Food and Beverage Operations: Guest Chefs; Catering and Special Events Management; Introduction to Wines; and Contemporary Healthy Foods. By the time they complete their coursework, they have covered as key areas restaurant design and development; foodservice in hotels, resorts, spas, stadiums, and institutions; and restaurant entrepreneurship.

At CIA, the courses cover culinary knowledge (e.g., of various national cuisines) and the culinary techniques and skills required for foodservice in restaurants, hotels, resorts, and other hospitality settings.

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Labels: Competencies, Cooking and food

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