Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Gluten-Free Cooking Programs

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on August 27, 2010
in Baking School
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gluten free cooking programsOne of the hottest trends in the culinary world today is cooking gourmet gluten-free foods. Popular for its health benefits (shedding pounds and eliminating many types of allergies) as well as a way to live with illnesses like celiac disease, a gluten-free diet deals primarily with eliminating certain types of flours and sweeteners.

This includes cooking without wheat, barley, and rye, eliminating most types of flour, bread, pasta, and even beer. Although there are not yet any accredited gluten-free cooking schools, many reputable culinary institutions are incorporating gluten-free programs as part of a larger culinary package.

Ranging from baking courses (which can be particularly tricky) to straightforward American cuisine, these programs provide another layer of training for cooks seeking to build a strong portfolio of skills.

Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet

Although most proponents of gluten-free foods cite celiac disease as the leading cause, there are a number of health benefits believed to be derived from this type of diet.

  • Staying away from gluten means avoiding many types of fatty pre-packaged foods.
  • Some researchers believe gluten contributes to higher risks of certain types of cancer.
  • Other researches cite the benefits of a gluten-free diet for those who suffer from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, autism, seizures, and other neurological disorders.
  • Gluten-free foods tend to be higher in natural fiber and protein.
  • A gluten-free diet may help reduce the side effects of anemia and diabetes.

Becoming a Gluten-Free Chef

When you learn gluten-free cooking, you’ll most likely discover new ways of cooking old favorites, as well as how to choose ingredients that avoid the gluten no-nos. (For example, soy sauce and most processed foods have some sort of gluten product, even if it’s only used as a preservative or filler.)

When it comes to cooking techniques, burgeoning chefs learn how to blend different types of flours, gums, and starches to replicate the use of regular flour. Although it is impossible to use a straightforward substitution, there are techniques and ingredients that can simulate the same chemical reaction.

If you are interested in learning more about this process and how you might be able to incorporate a gluten-free cooking class into your own culinary education, be sure and talk with the schools you’re considering. You might be surprised at how many of these types of courses are being included as a way to diversify your skills and meet the demands of health-conscious consumers everywhere.

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Culinary Students: Avoiding Foodborne Illnesses

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on August 21, 2010
in Culinary Schools
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Avoiding Foodborne IllnessAlmost all culinary schools require coursework in food safety, kitchen safety, and proper food storage. In the modern kitchen, there are hazards almost everywhere you turn – in using knives, navigating a hot and busy environment, and in making sure food is prepared without endangering the health of the customers.

One of the most important aspects of kitchen safety is in avoiding foodborne illnesses, which are estimated to impact up to 76 million people in the United States every year. Caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, or even chemicals in the food, most foodborne illnesses arise out of improper cooking techniques or cross contamination due to storing or preparing the food without a mind to safety.

The Top Food Safety Culprits

Even though you’d most likely rather be in the kitchen, preparing food and getting hands-on training, food safety courses are a vital part of the culinary school process. Some of the key points you’ll learn in the course include:

Washing Habits – This includes both food and your hands. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a favorite component of top chefs working today, but even produce from your own backyard has to be properly washed. Some of the biggest food poisoning scares occur from tainted produce like spinach or tomatoes.

Improper Cooking/Cooling – Almost all foods have to be either cooled or heated to certain temperatures in order to slow the growth of bacteria, especially in meat products. This can be tricky for culinary students, since some of the finest cuisine comes tartare or in carpaccio form, and is therefore inherently more dangerous than cooked meat.

Cross Contamination – One of the biggest culprits of food hazards is due to cross contamination, or spreading dangerous germs through bad storage, bad cleaning habits, or a generally unorganized kitchen. Cross contamination hazards are often one of the first things health code inspectors look for when checking restaurants.

Cooking Food Safely

Before you can work with food in a public setting, you’ll most likely have to take a food safety certification test required by your state or city health department. These tests tend to follow right along with what you learned in culinary school, so there won’t be any additional classes to take.

If you plan on opening your own restaurant someday, these food safety issues will come into play all over again, since you’ll be the one responsible for ensuring that your restaurant meets all health codes. One sick customer can ruin an entire career’s worth of culinary training and development, so food safety should always be at the top of the aspiring chef’s to-do list.

Top Three Culinary School Tips

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on August 12, 2010
in Culinary Schools
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culinary school tipsGoing to culinary school is a great experience for many people. Not only do you get the training you need to start a career in one of the most stable job markets in the country, but culinary institutions are a great place to meet like-minded individuals who share your passion for food and food preparation.

Like any education, though, you’ll only get as much out of your culinary training as you put into it. The academic requirements of most programs are fairly low, so if all you’re after is the diploma with your name on it, you can perform a minimum of tasks and still reach your goals.

However, if you really want to graduate with a sound knowledge of the kitchen and the culinary world, it’s best to take advantage of every opportunity that comes by.

Do an Internship/Externship – Even if It’s Not Required

Getting hands-on training in a learning environment and getting hands-on training in a working kitchen are two different things. Only by getting in a real restaurant environment will you get a handle for the speed, pressure, and exhilarating highs of being a cook or chef.

Don’t Rely on One Kind of Technology

There are chefs who swear by traditional French techniques that rely solely on knife skills, Dutch ovens, and fresh ingredients. There are also chefs more attuned to molecular gastronomy, tapping into sous vide options and liquid nitrogen in order to make their creations.

Both sides have valid points, and in order to get the best culinary education possible, you should learn both. Although you can certainly specialize in one type of cooking, make sure you know how to use all the kitchen technology available throughout history and today.

Find a Mentor, If You Can

One of the best ways to gain a competitive edge in the culinary field is to have connections to people in high places. Culinary students who learn from the best tend to go on to become the best. If you have the option to learn under a culinary great, take advantage of it.

If your educational goals are more modest, you can still align yourself with chef-instructors or restaurant owners whose food and skills you admire. Networking with fellow students can also help you when you start seeking employment later on.

It doesn’t matter if you take a culinary course that lasts a few months or for a few years – you can learn everything you need to get started at the right institution for you. Although it might seem like a lot of hard work today, the results you’ll see as a culinary professional will make all your studying and networking worth it.

Related Topics

Finding a Culinary School

Finding a Hospitality Management School

Finding a Baking & Pastry School

How to Make Culinary School Worth the Cost of Admission

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on August 6, 2010
in Culinary Schools
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cost of culinary schoolCulinary school costs can run upwards of $40,000 per year, depending on which institution you choose and the cost of living in the area. While there are less expensive options – including community college programs and short-term courses – the majority of culinary students graduate with at least a few thousand dollars of debt.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Although the culinary world can be competitive and offer fairly low starting wages, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that you get the most out of your investment.

  • Get a Degree: Diploma and certification courses are fine within the culinary world (especially when they come from schools like Le Cordon Bleu), but they aren’t very marketable when it comes to finding employment elsewhere. Earning an Associate, Bachelor, or even Master’s Degree can help you get a job not related to cooking, should you decide to someday change careers. These courses also usually have transferable credits, so you can carry your courses over to another school if you decide to change majors or professional goals.
  • Add Business Courses: Many of the highest-paying culinary jobs are available in hospitality management. To make yourself more viable in this particular market, you can either get a hospitality management degree or supplement your culinary training with business classes.
  • View Culinary School as a Step in the Journey, not a Destination: If you harbor visions of donning an Executive Chef label or stepping into Food Network stardom right out of culinary school, you might be in for a bit of a surprise. Going to culinary school isn’t the only thing you need to do to succeed; it’s one small part of a lifetime worth of work.
  • Work in a Restaurant First: Working in a restaurant – even if it’s just as a prep cook, waiter, or dishwasher – will help you get a better idea of how the food industry works and what you can expect out of a career in the field. You’ll get to know the hours, the level of activity, and the types of pay you can make right out of school. All this knowledge will help you make a better decision about how much time and money you’re willing to expend to get your education.

Culinary school doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be the end of the road. As long as you know what to expect and you make contingency plans to ensure you have additional job options should your culinary goals take longer than you thought, the cost of a culinary education can be worth every penny.

Related Topics

Finding a Culinary School

Finding a Hospitality Management School