Education Benefits Chefs, Food Formulators

Prepared Foods, Dec, 2001 by Bill "Pops" Hahne

The Research Chefs Association has mandated that education and certification are two strategic goals for the future and has created a new category of food professional--the "Culinologist[TM]." The culinologist curriculum will combine food technology and culinary arts courses, allowing students to pursue a four-year college degree. Presently, both Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., and Metropolitan College, Omaha, offer RCA-initiated short courses in food science for chefs.

In the planning stage is a one-week basic professional cooking course, sponsored by the RCA and the Culinary Institute of America, titled "Culinary Workshop for Food Technologists," to be held at the CIA's Hyde Park, N.Y. campus. Details soon will be announced on the RCA website: www.researchchef.org.

You may be thinking: "That's great for research chefs, but you haven't mentioned culinary arts training for food technicians!" However, the food scientist or technician can pursue a culinary arts education in several ways.

Culinary Arts Resources

Many programs are now being offered at local culinary arts schools, including both short courses and full-term classes. Shaw Guides annually publishes a Guide to Cooking Schools, which lists most of these schools.

A good basic culinary textbook is: On Cooking by Labensky and Hause (Prentice Hall). As a culinary arts instructor, I have used Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen (John Wiley) very successfully with new students. A more advanced text is The New Professional Chef, The Culinary Institute of America (Von Nostrand-Rheinhold).

What follows is a basic outline of courses taught in culinary arts courses:

* Culinary arts in modern foodservice.

* Culinary terms.

* Utensils, modern kitchen equipment, knives, and techniques of their usage.

* Basic cooking principles (dry and moist cooking and alternative methods).

* Five basic ("leading") sauces, secondary sauces ("small"), manufacture of stocks, soups.

* Seasoning and chefs flavoring.

* Classes in meat, poultry and seafood butchering and preparation.

* Ethnic cuisine, essential baking, starch and potato cookery, and vegetable cooking.

* Salads and "garde manger," breakfast service, sandwich making.

* Recipes and menu design.

On-Site Culinary Training

An alternative method of culinary arts training, "portable learning classes" are being taught onsite at factories and offices of food manufacturers by chef educators. They follow culinary arts class guidelines but offer an extra advantage: customization. As an example, "Converting Recipes into Formulas" is a more apropos class for food manufacturers than a menu design class would be. Also, "Presenting Products at Food Shows" is of better value than "Garnishing." More economical than sending an entire group to a school, on-site classes feature hands-on and workshop teaching. One of the portable education groups is "Chef-On-The-Side," whose website is: www.chefontheside.com. Their phone number is 877-875-2449.

Certification is the other RCA strategic goal. The first certification classification, Certified Research Chef, has qualified 12 members since 1999. A second certification level--Certified Culinary Scientist--will be announced at the annual RCA conference in New Orleans in March 2002. Certified Culinary Scientist criteria will include culinary arts education as well as work experience.

The RCA will "Define the future of food [TM]." To ensure your future is in food, pursue your goals through education and certification!

Chef Bill "Pops" Hahne is completing his second term as RCA president. He is the corporate executive chef of Eatem foods and is a principle of "Chef-On-The-Side." His work background includes teaching college level culinary arts for seven years. The RCA's website is: www.researchchef. org.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tutoring Culinary Terminology.

A la Carte: Foods prepared to order; each dish priced separately.

A la King: Foods served in a white cream sauce that contains mushrooms, green peppers and, often, pimentos.

Al Dente: A slight firmness remaining in foods after cooking.

Aspic: Clear meat or poultry jelly.

Au Gratin: Food covered with a sauce, sprinkled with crumbs and baked.

Au Jus: Served with natural juices or gravy.

Bain Marie: Double boiler or steam table.

Bake: Cooking technique that uses dry heat.

Barbecue: To cook food, especially meat, with direct heat over coals or in a broiler.

Base or Concentrate: Food product used to flavor food or to make soups and gravies.

Baste: To moisten food with stock, drippings, or fat while cooking.

Beat: To mix vigorously.

Bechamel: A white sauce made of milk thickened with a light roux and flavored with onion. This is one of the grand sauces.

Bisque: Thick soup, usually shellfish.

Blanch: To partially cook food by immersing in boiling water.

Blend: To mix thoroughly two or more ingredients. A creaming paddle, wire whip or pastry cutter may be used on a mechanical mixer.

Boil: A cooking technique that uses moist heat. Food products are cooked in boiling liquid until done.

Bouquet Garni: Aromatics tied together in a small bundle consisting of: parsley stems, thyme, bay leaves, and, sometimes, other fresh herbs.