Hospitality Operations - Kitchen Management Enhanced By State of the Art Facilities

  • Added:
    Feb 18, 2014
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Hospitality Operations - Kitchen Management Enhanced By State of the Art Facilities Photo by Jason White

A Centennial College hospitality program called Hospitality Operations – Kitchen Management was recently further enhanced by the addition of the school's Culinary Arts Centre. This Progress Campus location is used to facilitate many courses that allow students the opportunity to work in an environment that mimics a real world setting.

A $3.5 million renovation has yielded two enormous professional kitchens and a bakeshop lab totaling 7,600 square feet. Centennial's School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture worked with employers and members of its program advisory committees to ensure the Culinary Arts Centre's concept, design and equipment will meet the current and future needs of a rapidly changing industry. In addition, students have access to an on-campus restaurant, which adds another hands-on element.

Aside from all the hands-on experience, learning business practices in accounting, human resources and supervision is ideal preparation for a final-semester field placement that allows students to better understand the dynamics of the industry, increase their knowledge of industry practices and gain a competitive advantage of experience in the job market.

Here is a look at some specific Kitchen Management courses at Centennial College within the offering.

Supervisory Practices for the Kitchen Manager: To be a successful supervisor, managers must be aware of human resources, including employee skill level, retention, motivation, training, and retraining. This course gives students the skills they need to be better leaders, supervisors, and motivators.

Purchasing for the Commercial Kitchen: In addition to dealing with their employees, kitchen managers must know the procedures required to build an integrated purchasing system for food and non-food items. Students investigate the responsibilities of the purchaser and learn to apply quality standards and ethical conduct.

Food Production, Practical Supervision: Another part of the job of a manger in the food and beverage industry is to guarantee that the food is wholesome, safe to eat, and served in a timely and efficient manner while ensuring well-trained staff members are working in a safe and clean environment. All this must be accomplished while calculating, tracking and controlling the cost of both food and labour. In this practical course, students have an opportunity to be part of a team and supervisor of that team for a real food service operation.

Theory of Food: Emphasis of this lecture-based course is on terminology, use of correct equipment and procedures, recipe reading, measurements, trouble shooting and plate presentation. The preparation of such food groups as soups, stocks, sauces, meats, fish and seafood, vegetables and baked goods is studied.

Quantity Food Production: A good manager must be in tune with the cooking aspects of the kitchen. Students learn to demonstrate the basic principles of cooking and develop the skills necessary for small and large-scale food production. Emphasis is on technique, terminology, creativity, correct use of equipment, recipe and measurement analysis, and safe handling and storage procedures.

Upon successful completion of each hospitality course, students are prepared to join the food and beverage sector, which The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) anticipates will grow to employ 1.95-million people by 2015.

Author's Profile

Jason, who wrote this piece, details how Hospitality Operations – Kitchen Management students benefit from a range of on-campus facilities that enhance their learning.


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