CULINARY ARTS

Course Description

facts-at-a-glance

In this year-long class, offered only at the Career and Technology Center, instruction is provided in professional food preparation and related areas such as catering and hotel/restaurant management. Hands-on cooking tasks are combined with historical and theoretical aspects of culinary arts. Topics include: equipment operation, safety, and sanitation; stocks, soups, and sauces; meat, poultry, and seafood cookery; vegetable and starch cookery; cold food production; grade manger; menu planning; record keeping and service operations including food costs, recipe conversion, and front-of-the-house management. Applied math and communications skills are stressed. This course is suitable for students preparing for further education at culinary, business or restaurant management schools, as well as those wishing to enter apprenticeship or skilled line cooking positions in the food service industry.

Students are required to invest approximately $100 for a uniform.

(Student application process required. See your counselor.)

Culinary Schools and their websites:
Stratford University - www.stratford.edu
Johnson & Wales University - www.jwu.edu
Culinary Institute of America - www.ciachef.edu
Restaurant School at Walnut Hill - www.therestaurantschool.com
Arts Institute - www.aii.edu
L'Academie De Cuisine - www.lacademie.com
Florida Culinary Institute - www.floridaculinary.com
Pennsylvania Culinary Institute - www.pci.edu
York Technical Institute - www.yti.edu

Caterings:
National Technical Honor Society Breakfast
Celebration of Excellence
Fall Harvest
Technology Fair
Superintendant's Brunch

 

Average pay ranges in the United States:
Executive Chef: between $48,000 and $80,000 per year.
Pastry Chef: between $30,000 and $64,000 per year.
Food Scientist: between $42,000 and $63,000 per year.
Food Writer: between $40,000 and $54,000 per year.
Restaurant Manager: between $34,000 and $60,000 per year.
Sous-Chef: between $30,000 and $45,000 per year.
Hospitality Manager: between $30,000 and $42,000 per year.
Cook: between $28,000 and $32,000 per year.
Sources: National Restaurant Association, Salaries

Interesting Topics/Chapters
Poultry, breads, meats, desserts, entrees, chocolate, world cuisine, appetizers

Teacher Comments

Culinary Arts is a fun class in a fun atmosphere but I would like the students to always put safety and sanitation first. Students must also remember that we are responsible for keeping the kitchen and all of the equipment clean on a daily basis.

The majority of our work is lab based which means we will be in the kitchen a lot. However, we also do a fair share of book work and note taking too. Students will keep a notebook that has recipes, notes, warm-ups, and daily journal entries that can be used for many future years in this industry.

Our grade breakdown is as follows: LABS - 50%, CLASSWORK - 25%, WORK MATURITY - 15%, and TEST/QUIZZES - 10%

Student Comments

Even though there's lots of hard work, taking this class is really rewarding. It's a lot of fun and you meet new and very unique people. Being in this class helps make you a better team player and it helps develop your leadership skills.

Kara K