Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management Curriculum
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COMMERCIAL FOOD PRODUCTION
5 Credits, Grade 9
Commercial Food Production introduces students to the basic operations of a commercial kitchen. Students will learn how to interpret standardized recipes, as well as demonstrate consistent safety and sanitation. Basic culinary skills such as knife cuts, cooking techniques, and quantity food production are mastered. By working in a dynamic food service environment, students will demonstrate professionalism and personal responsibility in regards to front and back of the house operations. With these skills and knowledge, students will begin to explore career pathways in the hospitality industry.
INTRODUCTION TO COMMERCIAL BAKING
5 Credits, Grade 10
This course earns 5 credits and is open to sophomore students for the purpose of career exploration of the commercial baking industry, and is a pre-requisite course to enter Culinary Arts I/ Culinary Math in the student’s junior year. This class meets five days a week for one class period. Emphasis is placed on bakery production including equipment operation and maintenance and the preparation of all types of yeast products, quick breads, puff pastry, creams, custards, pies, and cookies. Scaling and bakery production based on classical European and American baking techniques is emphasized. Student involvement in production will develop organizational skills, bench skills, teamwork, time management skills, and critical thinking skills. Positive work attitudes and employable skills mesh into all aspects of curriculum applications. It is intended to provide students with a solid skill-based foundation through a combination of lecture and practical applications of the skills necessary to successfully function in the back house operation of a multi-phase foodservice operation.
CULINARY ARTS AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 1/CULINARY MATH
10 Credits, Grade 11
Culinary Arts 1/Culinary Math are the first levels of a two‐year course available to juniors enrolled in the four-year Culinary Arts Academy Course. It is intended to provide students with a solid foundation, through a combination of direct instruction and practical applications, of the skills necessary to successfully function in a multiphase foodservice operation. Culinary Math consists of coursework, activities, and projects that are specifically designed to develop and enhance student knowledge of culinary math as it relates to the foodservice industry through application in a restaurant setting. Paramount and foremost is the introduction of federal, state and local mandatory guidelines for the essentials of safety and skill application in a commercial foods environment. The course encompasses basic and advanced culinary arts preparation techniques, inclusive of presentation and proper service. Nutrition is investigated through dietary considerations, cultural foods, and captive audience situations. Food preparation labs are conducted and are inclusive of breakfast, lunch and dinner menu items with specialty baking applications. Dining room service is explored. Students will develop marketable job skill for entry-level positions in a variety of fields within the foodservice industry through their work in a student-operated licensed restaurant, the 5 Star Café.
HONORS CULINARY ARTS AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 2
10 Credits, Grade 12
Culinary Art and Hospitality Management 2 is an advanced honors course for seniors enrolled in the four-year Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Program. It is intended for students to continue to improve upon their basic mastery and internalize the concepts and applications introduced in Culinary and Hospitality Management I. Through a combination of lecture and practical applications, of the skills necessary to successfully function in a multiphase food service operation there is focus on Back House management and advanced skill proficiency in the Kitchen Brigade. Paramount and foremost is the reinforcement of federal, state and local mandatory guidelines for the essentials of safety and skill application in a commercial foods environment. The course will allow students to become eligible for a sanitation and safety managers certification, ServSafe. Advanced instruction in quantity standardized recipe application, catering, garde manger, techniques of butchering, and advanced specialty baking are included. Emphasis is on the development of advanced management skills through the operation of the 5 Star Café, the student-run restaurant. Professionalism and commitment to the community through service projects are stressed. Students are prepared for entering the workforce as highly skilled culinary employees. At the same time, they gain knowledge and skills that enable them to obtain advanced placement in post-secondary culinary colleges. Portfolios developed throughout the four-year program demonstrate to potential employers and colleges the wide range of experiences and skills the students possess.
MENU PLANNING AND HOSPITALITY GOVERNANCE5 Credits, Grade 12
Menu Planning and Hospitality Governance culminates the completion of hospitality management coursework for the Four Year Program of Study in the Freehold Regional High School District’s Culinary Arts Academy. Students will continue to improve upon the basic mastery of the concepts and applications introduced in all previous coursework through a management perspective. Advanced instruction is delivered in the infrastructure of the management of both human resources and the facility. Career, business, marketing, liability and financial management planning are introduced. An Action Research Project is the final comprehensive entry into the senior student’s career portfolio. The students design a full-service restaurant based on “the menu”. This project includes market surveys, business communications, financial proposal, front and back house floor plans. Equipment, small wares, and furniture specs are listed and samples of décor and china/service ware are displayed for professional judging. Students further their professional persona by demonstrating good citizenship through the governance of community service projects and career exploration activities through their chapter of the national sanctioned Skills USA Club.