The First Step

I've seen both schools, considered my options, made a decision and am now following through. I've accepted my offer of admission to Humber College for the 16 month accelerated Culinary Management program beginning January 2009. It feels good to have finally made a decision about school and know where I'll be begin as a cook.

I can't say that I'm excited about school but I'm sure I'll feel anxiety and excitement closer to the date. I look forward to being in school, being among like minded peers, cooking food I normally would not do at home, and most importantly, I look forward to learning.

The curriculum outline for the Culinary Management Program is as follows.

Semester 1 (27 hours/week)
CULN 115 Nutritional Theory
CULN 118 Business and Career Management
CULN 120 Basic Gardemanger Practical
CULN 305 Basic Gardemanger Theory
CULN 678 Baking and Pastry Arts Level 1
CULN 812 Basic Contemporary Culinary Skills and Techniques
CULN 814 Basic Culinary Knowledge
HRT. 121 Food Service, Sanitation and Safety
COMM 200 College Writing Skills
MATH 904 Mathematics - Hospitality

Semester 2 (19 hours/week)
CULN 220 Butchery Practical
CULN 225 Introduction to Dining Room Service
CULN 406 Advanced Gardemanger Theory
CULN 826 Advanced Culinary Knowledge
CULN 828 Profit Concepts
CULN 842 Nutritional Cuisine, Practical
HUMA 024 Humanities
GNED General Education Elective

Semester 3 (29 hours/week)
CULN 778 Baking and Pastry Arts Level 2
CULN 832 Menu Planning and Design
CULN 836 Contemporary Fish and Seafood
CULN 840 Advanced Gardemanger and Charcuterie
CULN 857 À la carte Cuisine
CULN 873 Planning for Culinary Profit
HRT. 032 Discovering the World of Wine
COMM 300 Business Writing Skills
GNED General Education Elective

Semester 4 (19 hours/week)
CULN 122 Occupational Health and Safety
CULN 440 Asian Cuisine
CULN 837 Hotel/Restaurant Traineeship
CULN 846 The Chef's Table
CULN 854 Emerging Trends in Canadian Cuisine
CULN 858 Practical Culinary Skills Proficiency
CULN 878 Baking and Pastry Arts Level 3

In the new year this will be my life for 16 months. Never before have I spent such time devoted to cooking. I welcome the experience.

Read more...

accepted

The results are in and I've been accepted to every college I had applied for. I never really worried that I would not be accepted but it feels good to receive the letters and read the standard welcoming always printed bold letters.

To recap from this entry:

George Brown College - Culinary Management H100
Accepted September 18, 2008

Humber College - Culinary Management 01911
Accepted September 15, 2008

Niagara College - Culinary Management Co-Op 0435
Accepted June 25, 2008

I always knew I wasn't going to attend Niagara College, I just threw it in there. It now comes down to the big two: GBC and Humber. Choosing the schools to apply to and completing the application process was the easy part now the real difficulty begins. I need to make a decision.

After next week I'll have toured both schools and have had an opportunity to speak with staff and students. I'll be doing a Pro vs. Con list as well as a SWOT analysis. This is going to be the most important academic decision I'll ever make.

Read more...

Allez Cuisine!

I've long been a fan of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America. I've now discovered it's becoming a video game. This makes me want to purchase a Wii to play this and its other cooking games such as Order Up! and Cooking Mama.

The Chairman never looked so good

Read more...