7 Things you will learn in Culinary School | FTC College

What Do You Learn in Culinary School?

7 things you will learn in culinary school - ftc college

Are you thinking about a career in the kitchen? Florida Technical College’s Culinary Arts Diploma Program will give you the necessary knowledge to work, manage and cook in the heat of a busy kitchen. The culinary school program is only 13-months in duration and new sessions begin every month. The structure is a combination of hands-on-deck experience and lectures. When you join the culinary diploma program at Florida Technical College you will learn how to read a recipe, be confident in the kitchen, the importance of having a good knife, what ingredients you must have in your kitchen at all times, and how to use your imagination to transform simple ingredients into delicacies.

 

1. How to read a recipe:

You may think you know how to read, however, learning this is like taking a trip to a foreign country. You have to know where you are going. Do you need a car? What to pack? A cell phone charger that works abroad? The last thing one wants to do is start a trip and realize you do not have all the necessary tools to get to the final destination. Reading recipes has its tricks. Do you have all of the ingredients? Do you understand all of the steps? A positive execution will depend on all of these factors. And this is something you will learn during a culinary arts program.

 

2. Benefits of having a good knife:

Have you ever cut an onion or a pineapple with a dull knife? The final product might not even look appealing to the eye. Having the right knife to cut a product will make the difference. If you slice onions with an extremely sharp knife, the sulfur that the onion contains does not break as much, meaning you will not tear up as much.

 

3. Use of imagination:

You never know what new chic dish you will come up with. This culinary arts program will allow you to use your imagination and make incredible creations. Do not get upset if you mess up, it happens to the best in the business, keep on cooking and you will create that tasty dish you thought about in your mind.

 

4. Safety in the kitchen:

Anything can happen in a kitchen; you will learn during culinary school what to do in any situation that could arise. For example, an automatic reaction to a fire is to use water to douse the flames; however, you should never use water on a grease fire. You will also learn what to keep handy in case of a cut or burns.

 

5. Accidents are fixable:

There will be times you may run to your school instructor fearing you have messed up a plate. Florida Technical College culinary program will give you techniques and hands-on experience to fix mistakes. There could be a few baking disasters, however, most foods are salvageable after adjusting some seasonings and textures.

 

6. It’s okay not to measure anything when cooking (unless you are baking):

This culinary training program will allow you to trust your eye and mouth. Unless you are baking, you do not need to measure anything, use your eye to measure a teaspoon of salt, and then use your mouth to taste and see if you need more salt or more water! Reviewing will make you a stronger faster cook.

 

7. Must have ingredients:

You will learn during culinary school that having some key ingredient always stocked in your fridge and pantry will excel in your creations. For instance, butter makes everything better, salt make your dish tastier, lemons add that exquisite fresh taste and eggs can do anything to your plate.
 

Culinary Program Knowledge and Skills

You will learn many different skills during culinary school. These skills include attention to detail, patience, cleanliness, arithmetic, hospitality, and teamwork. With this skill set you will be prepared to work in the kitchen, whether you are a head chef, line cook, prep cook or baker.
 

Skill #1: Attention to Detail

Chefs cook to order so attention to detail is important. Every dish should be identical, unless a patron requests a certain temperature. In addition, everything on the plate must be prepared and ready at the same time. Not only that, but a table’s patrons ordering different items must all be ready at the same time. Temperatures are critical, and the number of minutes they boil, bake, fry or broil depends on the patron’s order.
 

Skill #2: Patience

The saying goes: a watched pot never boils. As much as attention to detail is important, a chef must be patient. It takes time to bake and broil in the kitchen. Patience is also key when dealing with teammates, shift managers or even customers. A strong leader understand that greatness takes time and must keep a level head in the kitchen.
 

Skill #3: Cleanliness

Keeping the kitchen clean is important. Not only is it important to perform basic sanitation to keep bacteria and other foreign substances out of the food prep but many patrons have allergies that may be triggered by cross-contamination. During culinary school, you will learn about ServSafe standards, proper food handling and work safety principles.
 

Skill #4: Arithmetic

Much of what is cooked in the kitchen must be measured out. Once you become an expert chef you may not need to measure out your ingredients but until then you will want to keep everything measured so that all of your dishes are identical. When someone visits your restaurant, they expect the food to taste the same way it did last time they visited. Working in the kitchen involves addition, subtraction, fractions and standard metrics. What is the translation of liters into quarts? You will need to know how to calculate these measurements to create quality and consistent food.
 

Skill #5: Hospitality

Part of a culinary training program teaches you how to manage, supervise, lead and attend to human resources. All of these things fall under hospitality management. The culinary training program will allow you to select and recruit staff, train employees, and give employee evaluations. The goal of your hospitality skills is to allow your employees to work more efficiently and effectively.
 

Skill #6: Teamwork

A kitchen has many moving parts, and they must all work together. Each person on a team is integral to the whole and it is you are responsible to make sure you lead with confidence and follow when another person is better to lead.
 

Culinary Arts Diploma Program

The Culinary Arts Diploma Program offers you the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to obtain an entry-level position in the culinary field. You will gain hands-on knowledge of sauces, meats, and baked products. In addition, you will learn about kitchen safety and sanitation techniques to ensure food safety. Finally, you will cover management and supervision in the food service industry.
 

Baking and Pastry Diploma Program

The Baking and Pastry Diploma Program offers you the theoretical and practical knowledge required to work in the industry. You will learn to create, prepare, and attractively present a variety of stand-alone desserts, bread-based products, and common or special baking recipes, pastries, and sweets.

FTC’s Culinary Arts Diploma Program will provide you with hands-on experience to get to work immediately. Whatever reason you have to learn how to cook Florida Technical College can help. For more information or to find out about the culinary program enrollment contact us now!

By Jose Luis Dieppa