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Specialist Chef Diploma

380 Hours – 20 Weeks Full-Time

Designed for students desiring to start a food service business or become a personal chef, this program includes the material contained in the Cook Basic diploma program and the Entrepreneurial Skills for Chefs certificate course.

Program Highlights

chef making food

Sanitation, Safety and Equipment

  • Interpretation of terms
  • Personal hygiene
  • Food contamination
  • Safe food handling
  • Construction standards
  • Maintenance standards
  • Sanitation codes
  • The Health Protection and Promotion Act
  • Food poison prevention
  • Dishwashing
chefs in class learning

Bake Theory

  • Flour production & applications
  • Types of shortening
  • Sugar commodities
  • Eggs in baking
  • Dairy products
  • Use of salts
  • Leavening agents
  • Chocolate and flavorings
chefs cooking food

Basic Nutrition

  • Major nutrient identification
  • Energy sources
  • Lipids
  • Proteins and vegetarian diets
  • Carbohydrate and dietary fiber
  • Vitamins, processing & additives
  • Mineral elements
  • Water – sources, value & quality
  • Developing food patterns

Culinary Techniques – Basic

  • Kitchen tools – identification, storage & handling
  • Uniform standards
  • Proper food storage and packaging
  • Fire procedures
  • Stock cookery
  • Thickening agents
  • Soup cookery
  • Sauce cookery
  • Egg & breakfast cookery
  • Short order cookery
  • Vegetable, pasta & rice cookery
  • Fish & shellfish cookery
  • Meat entrees
  • Salads
food on plates

Communications – Basic

  • Basic business communications
  • Accident reports
  • Resume preparation
  • Cover letters
  • Application forms

Techniques of Baking

  • Pie dough
  • Piping batters
  • Quick breads and muffins
  • Cream desserts
  • Icings
  • Yeast dough
  • Choux paste products
  • Pastries
  • Cake preparation

Calculations – Basic

  • Addition, subtraction, multiplication & division
  • Common fractions
  • Decimal fractions
  • Percentages
  • Standards of measurement
  • Fahrenheit to Celsius conversions

Kitchen Management

  • Hospitality/tourism perspectives and organizations
  • Orientation, training and career planning
  • Menu planning and basic marketing
  • Table service
  • Basic kitchen calculations
  • Basic purchasing
  • Kitchen organization, maintenance and security

Food Theory – Basic

  • Major cooking methods
  • Vegetable cuts and flavoring agents
  • Stock and soup cookery
  • Sauce cookery
  • Breakfast and short order cookery
  • Vegetable with pasta & rice cookery

Quantity Food Preparation

  • Rules of personal hygiene and sanitation
  • Safety regulations
  • Large kitchen equipment identification
  • Stock, soup and sauce cookery
  • Poultry, lamb, pork, beef, fish cookery
  • Potato and vegetable cookery
  • Salad preparation
  • Dessert preparation

Specialist Chef Introduction

  • Overview of the industry
  • A day in the life of a Specialist Chef
  • What you need to become a successful chef entrepreneur

Creating a Specialist Chef business

  • Business plan
  • Market research & strategic plan
  • Financial planning
  • Legal & government considerations

Administration Model

  • Business structure
  • Accounting options
  • Insurance
  • Financing

Tools & Equipment

  • The client package
  • Checklists
  • Containers – storage, freezing, reheating
  • Tools of the Specialist Chef trade
  • First aid
  • Chef safety

Strategic Marketing Plan

  • Creating an image or brand
  • Marketing outline
  • Delivering your message
  • Marketing tools
  • Creating marketing materials

Menu Planning

  • How do people eat
  • Service variations
  • Costing
  • Special diets
  • Nutritional labeling
  • Timing for success
  • Purchasing
  • Choosing suppliers
  • Creating the shopping list
  • Ordering
  • Tracking mileage
  • Client gifts
  • Timing for success

Working in the Client’s Home

  • Planning your work flow
  • Client interview & site inspection
  • Setting up your workspace
  • Trouble shooting
  • Clean up & security
  • Evaluation

Marketing an Entrepeneurial Chef Service

  • Leading questions
  • Using the phone script
  • FAQ’s & objections
  • Booking the interview
  • Questionnaire

Specialist Chef Culinary Techniques

  • Cooking methods
  • Proteins, starches, produce
  • Food quality
  • Packaging for freezing/reheating

Other Revenue Sources & Concepts for the Entrepeneurial Chef

  • Strategic partnerships
  • Networking
  • Catering
  • Interactive parties
  • Private cooking demonstrations/lessons
  • Menu planning

Safety & Sanitation

  • Note: students must have a valid Safe Food Handlers Card
  • In home basics
  • Bacteria
  • Food handling
  • Cleaning
  • Dishwashing
  • Safety practices

Get Started On the Path to Your Dream Career!