Description of a Culinary Arts Course

Master the art of cooking.

There are a wide variety of culinary arts courses that you will take on your journey through culinary arts school. After learning the fundamentals of general culinary arts, you will expand on these techniques and skills courses by adding rich new flavors from various cultures to your meals. Once you have mastered the culinary skills needed, your dream of becoming a culinary artist will become reality.

Lectures

Cooking is only a small portion of the culinary arts journey. You will attend many lectures regarding the basics of cooking and various ingredients used in the dishes that will be prepared. Once the basics of culinary arts have been taught, you will then journey into the history, culture and ingredients that are used in a variety of cultural cooking. Through lectures, you will be taught the nutritional elements of the key ingredients used in many cultural diets. In addition, you will learn what ingredients are most prominent in different regions of the world.

Common Ingredients

Cooking is based on foods that are most prominent to the different cultures and regions in various parts of the world. Some key spices that are used in cooking include oregano, parsley, mint, fennel, dill, cilantro, basil, cumin, dry mustard and rosemary. The use of these spices depends on the cultures and areas around the world. Learning the smell, texture and flavor of these spices is an important aspect in preparing the wide variety of dishes available. Other key ingredients that are commonly used in cooking include garlic, honey, lemons, dried beans, yogurt, pepper, almonds, olives, olive oil, tomato paste, sea salt, vinegar and wine.

Demonstrations

Demonstrations are a very important aspect of the various culinary arts courses. Through this part of the course, each student will learn food preparation, various techniques and food and kitchen management. In addition, you will learn various methods for food presentation through demonstrations on color, placement and garnishes by professional culinary artists.

Hands-on Experience

Once you have watched the masters show off their expertise in making cuisines, you will get to try your hand at recreating these dishes. This part of the course will allow you to explore the various methods of cooking, while utilizing all that you have learned from the various stages of your training. Here, you can also expand on styles and techniques taught to you by your instructors, creating your own flair. This is where your skills and training are put to the test as you attempt to create various dishes from all that you have learned throughout this course. Once dishes are completed, you will be graded on flavor, ingredient use, technique and presentation.

Sampling the Creations

No course would be complete without sampling the products of your labor and that of your fellow students. Here you will get a better feel for the tastes and textures of the ingredients that were used in each dish. During this part of the course, you can test your ability to taste the spices used in each dish. See if you can determine if something is missing or if someone added an extra ingredient, and if so, what was used. If you can do this, then you have truly mastered your culinary arts training.

References

• The Culinary Institute of America: Cuisines of the Meditteranean
• The Art Institutes: Culinary Arts
• Old Ways: Traditional Mediterranean Diet
• Mediterranean Summer: Mediterranean Ingredients
• Mediterranean Book: Beginners Guide to Cooking and Eating