Specialist Chef
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
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
Bake Theory
- Flour production & applications
- Types of shortening
- Sugar commodities
- Eggs in baking
- Dairy products
- Use of salts
- Leavening agents
- Chocolate and flavorings
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
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