Catering Course Curriculum

Catering can involve numerous types of food, styles, and locations. In this course, you’ll learn the basics of catering, resources for caterers, getting your catering business started, and marketing your catering business

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Explain the training, business, and marketing considerations required to open a catering business

In this course, you’ll learn about various aspects of catering. You’ll learn about the history of catering, the personnel and equipment requirements for catering, and how to cater a number of types of events. You’ll also learn how to present and serve foods when catering, including making garnishes for various types of dishes. Finally, you’ll learn how to prepare and serve alcoholic beverages.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Define service, management, and etiquette as they relate to operating a catering business
• Explain how to prepare dishes for specific events and how to decorate dishes
• Describe the properties and characteristics of various types of alcoholic beverages

In this course, you’ll learn the details of the food service industry and the gourmet kitchen. You’ll learn about job opportunities available to those trained in food service, the type of equipment used in the kitchen, how to prepare specific quantities of food, and how to present gourmet food.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Describe career opportunities, nutrients, and food safety as a culinary arts professional
• Define types of recipes, menus, and the best equipment to use
• Describe the art of food presentation and the design of a gourmet kitchen

This course is designed to introduce you to the fundamental recipes for making stocks, sauces, and soups, in addition to cooking with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. What you’ll learn in this course will help you form a solid foundation as you progress toward your culinary goals.

In this course and the accompanying chapters in The Professional Chef, you’ll be introduced to the classical elements of flavor and texture. It’s essential to follow the instructions of a new recipe. If you don’t—particularly with delicate sauces and soups—you may never achieve your desired result. However, after you’ve made a sauce, stock, or soup several times successfully, leave yourself open for the moments of inspiration that come with true mastery.

Fruits, vegetables, and herbs provide some of the most essential sources of vitamins and minerals in our diets. There has never been a time in history when such a variety of produce has been so widely available. Previous generations had access to only certain fruits or vegetables for a few months every year. Today, we’ve become so accustomed to seeing everything from beans to peaches to raspberries at the grocer’s every month, that many people don’t even know the peak season of their favorite produce. If you can master cooking methods for even a fraction of this remarkable cornucopia, you’ll be able to inspire your guests with an endless variety of dishes.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Define the foundation, thickening agents, and varieties of stocks and sauces
• Describe the different textures, garnishes, and flavor foundations of soups
• Identify the basics of fruits, vegetables, and herbs
• Describe cooking methods for fruits, vegetables, and herbs

In many countries, meat is used as an accompaniment to stir-fried vegetables or noodles. But in Western Europe and America, the central feature of a meal is more likely to be some form of meat. When you’ve learned to cook remarkable, mouth-watering recipes for beef, veal, lamb, and pork, you’ll have grappled with the challenge of cooking meat—and won.

This course includes an enormous amount of information that will help you reach the goal of learning to prepare and cook meat. The cooking methods you used for vegetables remain basically the same for meat. In the upcoming lessons, you’ll learn to use them with poultry, game, and fish. It’s exciting to see how many different effects you can create with these methods.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Grilling and broiling
• Roasting and baking
• Sautéing and frying
• Steaming and submersion
• Braising and stewing

Measure the time and cost involved against your ambitions. If your desire for mastery is great, find a way to work through these recipes. If that’s impractical, be sure to at least take the time to think your way through each recipe and try the ones where the process is less familiar to you. Either way, you’ll be far more knowledgeable about identifying, fabricating, and cooking meats when you’ve finished than when you began.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Define the basics and cooking methods for beef and veal
• Define the basics and cooking methods for lamb and pork

This course is unusual because it offers you a unique contrast between some of the most popular, commonplace meats around the world—poultry—and some of the most wild, exotic meats—game. By the time you’ve finished, you’ll have learned creative alternatives for preparing familiar birds like chicken and turkey. You’ll also be able to apply the strong foundation of cooking methods you’ve learned to less familiar meats, such as bison, caribou, and emu.

This course will also introduce you to some of the sources for these exotic meats and the elements involved in finding high-quality game meat. Since The Professional Chef touches more extensively on poultry than game, this course will be especially important as it informs you about a more complete range of options.

If you’re an adventurous cook, you’ll find that an intriguing exploration awaits you in the pursuit and preparation of game meat. If you’re determined to become a master chef, you’ll also appreciate the importance of achieving the kind of expertise that will allow you to turn even common chicken into an extraordinary culinary experience.

Either way, you can consider this course the introduction to a host of exciting possibilities.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Define the basics of poultry and game, including cuts and trussing
• Describe the cooking methods for poultry and game, including roasting, deep poaching, sautéing, and preparation

Entire libraries have been devoted to the preparation of fish and shellfish. This course will serve as an introduction to the vast range of selections available to you, as well as the basic techniques for preparing both fish and shellfish.

In many parts of the world, fish are the primary protein in the diet of the population. Because of the enormous nutritional value of fish—and, in particular, the essential omega oils it contains—these cultures are often healthier than those that consume large quantities of heavy meats. As people become more health-conscious, there’s an increasing demand for fresh fish, served in delectable ways. At the same time, fishermen have found ways to keep fish on ice and ship it all over the world. In markets in the United States, it’s not uncommon to find fresh mussels from New Zealand, salmon from Scotland, and cod from Chile.

Take advantage of the wealth of the fish and shellfish available by experimenting with the techniques in this course on as many different kinds of fish as possible. You’ll find that fish and shellfish provide a light, healthful alternative to meat, without sacrificing any of the variety or flavor.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Define the basics of fish and shellfish, including purchasing and freshness
• Describe the cooking methods for fish and shellfish, including submersion and deep-frying

In this course, you’ll broaden your appreciation of some of the most basic staple foods. The use of rice dates back 10,000 years. Legumes followed not long afterward. In many cultures, these two foods still form the basic foundation of a healthy diet. Although it’s a more recent innovation than these two prehistoric foods, pasta has become a food staple in its own right. Starches, like legumes, grains, and pasta, are such an essential part of the human diet, you’re likely to use all of these foods on a regular basis.

With the photos, cooking instructions, and descriptions of flavors and textures provided in this course, you’ll have the opportunity to explore variations you’ve never tried before. A program like this implicitly urges you to cultivate a broader palette and master the preparation of a much wider range of foods in every area.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Demonstrate job-specific technical and professional skills
• Discuss different types of grains and their health benefits
• Discuss the various legume types and their process of cooking
• Identify different types of pasta

Many professional chefs find that bread, pastry, and desserts are among the most pleasing dishes they make. Bread is a comfort food and sugar sets off an endorphin response in the brain, so there’s an emotional and biological appeal to these foods that’s unique.

As recently as 50 years ago, bread and desserts were among the most time-consuming dishes in preparation and actual cooking time. However, the inventions of mixers, food processors, freezers, double boilers, and bread machines have made the process far less intimidating today.

Take your time with this course. When you begin working as a professional, you may end up ordering your breads and desserts from specialists, as many serious cooks do. However, the time you spend now engaged in such fundamental activities as bread making and the creation of sweet desserts will be an asset in your career

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Demonstrate job-specific technical and professional skills
• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of baking bread
• Demonstrate the techniques of baking pastries

Welcome to Breakfast, Garde Manger, and World Cuisines. This course covers an unusual mix of information— breakfast, garde manger (decorative, carefully crafted foods), and world cuisines. You’ll begin with breakfast and the most important safety measures for storing and caring for dairy products and eggs. You’ll then learn the six different ways of cooking eggs, each one of which produces its own distinct texture and visual appeal.

You’ll learn about many different aspects of garde manger and charcuterie. Then you’ll find a quick overview of the truly magnificent French art of charcuterie. The course will cover the dishes that come first in any meal—appetizers and hors d’oeuvres.

You’ll conclude with a tour of culinary practices around the world. In addition to learning the background of many exotic dishes and practices, you’ll gain an introduction to preparing these wonderful recipes on your own.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

• Choose the dishes made with eggs and its importance in the culinary domain
• Compare various cuisines of the world