Do you dream of working around the world in the culinary field in places such as hotels, cruise lines, resort, restaurants, country clubs and camps? If so, Centennial Colleges Culinary Management program, with its international perspective on traditional culinary management, may be for you.
The two-year undertaking is officially known as Culinary Management International and is offered at the colleges Progress Campus. This location houses many other School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture programs. As such, it boasts a variety of facilities to ensure that the Culinary Management program meets its goal of teaching students to be well versed in culinary techniques, sanitation practices and management strategies. Among specific facilities to which students have access are: state-of-the-art culinary and baking labs, a restaurant that serves as a live lab and allows students to learn to deal with a variety of customers as well as computer labs at which students can master software programs related to their field.
As for the Culinary Management programs curriculum, covered are topics that will allow students to work nationally and internationally. First, students are provided with a sound culinary foundation and specialization in ethnic and international cuisine, then they move onto mastering the skills they need to manage diversity in the workplace through exposure to the unique relationship between cuisine, culture, and religion
Among the specific Culinary Management courses in this offering are: Food Theory for Culinarians (topics covered include: professionalism, culinary terminology, seasoning, cooking methods, stocks, soups, basic sauces, vegetables, potatoes, rice, grains, legumes, pasta, dairy, eggs, meat, poultry, fish and seafood); Bakeshop Principles and Practices (students are introduced to the fundamental ingredients, techniques and procedures used in the bakeshop from both a theoretical and practical perspective); and Restaurant Practicum: Kitchen/Dining Room (provides students with the opportunity to integrate their previous classes in an operating kitchen and restaurant where they apply and experience different types of international cuisines and presentation styles. Students rotate to the different sections of the kitchen to expand their skills and further develop an understanding of the brigade system). Additionally, students partake in Culinary Management courses that teach them the specific cuisines of Europe, the Mediterranean and Middle East, South Asia, the Americas, and South East Asia. Such specialization is well suited to the cruise ship industry and all-inclusive resorts, both of which offer many types of diverse cuisines as part of the dining experiences.
To allow students to apply what they learn in their Culinary Management courses prior to graduation, this program offers a field placement in the last semester. During the course of the placement, students have an opportunity to observe, learn and work with experienced personnel in a real-life environment, while supporting the application and further development of their practical and theoretical skills.
Applicants to the Culinary Management program are required to have completed at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or have mature student status (19 years or older). Additionally, they must have completed English Grade 12 C or U, or equivalent (minimum grade required) or take the Centennial College English Skills Assessment for Admission.