Food, Hospitality and Tourism

Food, nutrition and culinary arts have become big business. The success of food channels/shows, broadening fascination with cross-cultural foods, and the national focus on creating healthy and delicious meals bring a new, fresh interest in career development in these fields. The industry is often referred to as “Food and Beverage” or “F&B” as it also includes the expanding product lines and marketing of beer, wine, spirits, sport drinks, water, soda and many speciality beverages, both domestic and imports.

The Culinary Studies program will help you explore your passion for culinary arts with hands on experience in nutrition, menu planning, commercial baking, food preparation and presentation.

Restaurants, hotels and other food service industries often employ three distinct types of employees -- chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers.

• Chefs are responsible for directing the activities of other kitchen workers, menu planning, recipe creation, food and supply ordering, and some specific cooking duties. They are typically the most senior members of the staff.
• Cooks are responsible for the day to day food preparation at the restaurant or facility. Depending on the size of the facility, there may be several cooks, each responsible for a different part of the menu, or a different type of food. For example, there are fry cooks, vegetable cooks, pastry cooks, and other specialties.
• Food Preparation Workers work under the supervision of chefs and cooks, and typically perform less skilled duties. For example, they may chop vegetables, prepare salads, and prepare materials used by the restaurant's chefs and cooks.

Institutional cooks work in hospitals, cafeterias, and other establishments that typically serve a regular clientele. Short order cooks work in restaurants that emphasize fast service, and are trained to prepare a wide variety of items quickly. There is a small market for household cooks, who have the entire kitchen responsibility, including cooking, cleaning, and menu planning, for a family.

Of course, there is always the option of opening your own restaurant or food business. This requires not only a strong passion and interest in food, but skills and knowledge of business, customer service and marketing, accounting and finance. This is a very competitive and risky career path but could be highly rewarding for those who are positively challenged by dynamic environments and opportunities.