Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 Catalog SVC 
    
2016-2017 Catalog SVC [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management


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Program Description

The Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management (CAHM) program prepares students for many aspects of the food industry. Celebrity Chefs, Iron Chefs, Food Network shows-everywhere you look today, the public is excited about culinary arts. As this excitement grows, so does the food industry. Trained, qualified chefs are in demand and the Skagit Valley College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management (CAHM) program is the place to prepare you for this emergent industry.

The Skagit Valley College Culinary Arts program is among the few culinary programs accredited by the prestigious American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF). This means the program competes with the best of the best. Students have traveled to Chicago, Hawaii, Colorado Springs and other culinary centers as part of the emphasis on networking with peers and accomplished, well-placed chefs across the country. Students have had the opportunity to stand side-by-side with master chefs seen on the Food Network and have garnered their share of competition medals.

The Skagit Valley College Mount Vernon location offers the opportunity to experience firsthand the fresh, local food products that are celebrated around the nation. “Fresh and local” are an integral part of the culinary experience positioning you on the cutting edge of this national trend.

Course content emphasizing ‘hands-on’ lab work and a variety of flexible teaching techniques are designed to meet the needs of diverse learning styles. Emphasis is placed on the necessity for the modern culinary professional to understand global food trends and international flavor principles in a working environment sensitive to cultural and general differences.

First-year courses feature basic culinary skill development and application. “Hands-on” learning is offered in labs such as the newly modernized Skagit Café, and campus food service outlets. These labs offer students unique, real life experiences while developing industry-level speed and competency. Second-year courses offer students a choice. They may pursue an ATA degree with a Restaurant Management emphasis that includes courses with a supervision and management practicum, an ATA degree with a Culinary emphasis (advanced cooking techniques) that includes courses with an advanced cooking practicum, or an ATA degree with a Baking and Pastry emphasis that includes courses with an advanced baking and pastry practicum.

Whether a student wants to bolster his/her knowledge and skills to advance in a current food service job, start his/her own bakery, café or catering business, begin a career path as a manager in a large, prestigious food corporation, become a personal chef, or just learn more about being a good cook, the Skagit Valley College Culinary Arts program can help you get there!

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program will be able to:

  • Meet skill standards of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and eligibility to obtain certification as a Certified Culinarian or Certified Pastry Culinarian.
  • Demonstrate critical thinking, teamwork, intercultural appreciation, technical and information literacy skills.
  • Understand and demonstrate knowledge in applied math, food cost, labor cost, menu pricing and inventory controls.
  • Understand and apply safety and sanitation procedures in compliance with national standards.
  • Understand and demonstrate basic and advance cooking techniques, knife skills and cooking procedures.
  • Meet social science, humanities, written communication, and quantitative reasoning distribution area outcomes.
  • Understand and demonstrate basic and advance baking and pastry techniques, weights and measurements and standard recipe execution.

Entry into the Program

Please apply at Enrollment Services. Students may enter the program at the beginning of any quarter. For more information, contact the Department Chair or Enrollment Services.

Work-Based Learning

Students will integrate classroom learning with work-based learning experience in Cooperative Education (CAHM 199 ) at a supervised work site. Department Chair approval is required. Credits and grades are based on job-hours worked, work performance and completion of the learning objectives specified in the learning contract. Concurrent enrollment in a Cooperative Education Seminar or equivalent is required.

Associate in Technical Arts Degree

An Associate in Technical Arts degree (ATA) is awarded upon completion of a minimum of 90 credits of specified technical and related education coursework above 100-level with both an overall 2.0 grade point average and a 2.0 grade point average in the technical major.

Individual Technical Certificate

An Individual Technical Certificate may be developed in conjunction with other programs to meet marketable objectives and goals with Department Chair approval.

Micro-Certificates

These certificates focus on a specific skill within this program. A certificate is awarded to those students who complete a one-quarter block of classes plus CAHM 123  (ServSafe).

Programs

Courses

    Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management

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