Undergraduate Degree Culinary and Baking Arts (AS)

This one-week pre-matriculation experience helps students master the basics of kitchen work: knife skills, sanitation, fundamental food preparation, etc. It allows students to begin their first semester ready to move forward with the initial lessons. It also gives students a chance to get to know each other, familiarize themselves with the SNHU campus, and prepare themselves for college-level work.

This is a foundation course for students embarking on a professional culinary arts career. Culinary Intensive Lab emphasizes basic cooking techniques, culinary terminology and the proper use of culinary tools, which apply to the professional kitchen environment and the culinary industry. The course is divided into a series of extensive classroom lectures, chef demonstrations and hands-on preparation. These methods of instruction will prepare students to focus their attention on cooking organization, sanitation and following correct culinary procedures. This course will develop for the culinary student, the proper professional attitude toward the food service profession and will introduce the student to professional organizations and literature essential for success in the culinary field.

Lecture and lab format is used to develop skills for the production of yeasted doughs, quick breads, short dough, tarts, pie, pie fillings, Bavarian creams, custards, mousses, souffles, various cookies, meringues, pastry cream, other fillings, phyllo, strudel, and laminated dough products, cakes, icings, and frozen desserts. Emphasis will be placed on accurate measuring, efficiency in the work flow, application of appropriate tools and mixing methods for product type, practicing safety and sanitation throughout processes, ability to evaluate proper doneness, execution of finishing skills, and development of flavor, texture, and appearance suited to the product.

This course serves to reinforce the cooking and baking techniques developed in CUL-115 and CUL-125, as well as introduce students to the various functions of a full-service restaurant. To fulfill this purpose, students will be working to meet a deadline for service in the Quill restaurant, upholding the standards of quality and consistency when producing the menu items they are assigned, rotating through the various stations of the kitchen, working as a team to prepare for service, delivering meals quickly and efficiently, and returning the kitchen to a clean work space, gaining experience with the point-of-sales system and expediting, practicing communication skills in a busy production environment. Successful completion of this course proves proficiency in production from the cold station, fry station, charbroiling, saut , plated dessert production, and bread baking for entry level positions.

Emphasis is placed on methods used to solve mathematical problems that relate to food service operations. Topics include operations with decimals, percentages, weights and measures, recipe conversion, menu pricing, food costs, inventories, break-even analysis, and financial statements.

This course focuses on essential techniques of customer service, including professional guest interaction, timely service, proper guest check procedure, and point of sales operations. The relationship between the front- and the back-of-house operations and approaches will be explored with an emphasis on smooth, efficient, and professional experiences for consumers.

In this course, students will be introduced to the historical and regional implications in the development of different world cuisines. This course will enhance their cooking skills and techniques by producing food for rotating international menus. Students will work through each station of the kitchen, applying appropriate cooking methods and working with different ingredients indigenous to international cuisines. This course will reinforce the cooking and baking techniques developed in earlier courses as well as introduce students to the functions of a full-service restaurant. The development and refinement of mis en place, cooking techniques, timing, and organizational skills are emphasized in this class. Successful completion of this course proves proficiency in producing and presenting several savory dishes, desserts, and breads from countries around the world.

This two-week, on-campus capstone gives students an opportunity to learn from each other as they bring back specific skills from their internships. Students will also demonstrate their mastery of foundational cooking and baking skills in live-kitchen demonstrations and exams.

This required internship at a full-service restaurant will give students the opportunity to learn in a professional setting while also applying the skills and techniques they learned in their coursework and labs. Competencies for the internship include skills in banquet and catering; baking and dessert production; cold food and garde manger; expediting, dishwashing, and maintenance; and line cooking.