Alternative Chef Training for Down-to-Earth Cuisines
by Kelly Richardson
kelly.richardson@careerschooldirectory.com
Career School Directory Columnist
When you think about being a chef, your thoughts most likely go to sumptuous sauces, delicately braised beef, and delightfully sinful desserts. But not all career education in the culinary arts is based on flash and flair. Sometimes, simple home foods are what go down best.
At the Bobby Jones farm in Milan, Ohio, youngsters are taught the basics of natural ingredients and good health. In a one-day program in the process of expanding to 500 classrooms, kids experience foods fresh from the garden and recipes that encourage responsible eating.
Chefs Perform the Fundamentals
This notion is catching on in
professional chef training programs as well. Prospective chefs are getting an education in turning these healthful cooking techniques into restaurant-caliber cuisine. Here's how the Chef's Collaborative and Fair Food program is connecting good food and good eating.
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Regional Foods. Professional chef Phillip Thomason has opened the Vintage Kitchen, an establishment dedicated to the delicacies of the farm and a partner of the Five Forks Farm Market.
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The Five Forks. The Five Forks Farm market is making a play for the "white table" restaurants, encouraging chefs to find remarkable ways to make basic food groups more appealing.
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Early Morning Training. Chef Randy Jones hits the market at 5 AM to select the ingredients for the menu of the day.
Soulful Transformation
Even much-beloved soul food is beginning to catch on to the benefits of healthier ingredients. Professional chef Lindsey Williams of Harlem, New York, is taking the plunge by replacing fats and greases with healthy oil alternatives.
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Rich History. Salt, sugar, and fat, the traditional soul food ingredients, cause a host of medical maladies.
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Neo Soul. Williams' new book provides a rich education in replacing conventional food ingredients with healthier alternatives.
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The Soul Refined. Williams' vision is to take the soul food heritage to a new level of refinement, using olive oil as a base for his creations.
The bottom line is that the
culinary arts are on the verge of a major revolution. Now is the perfect time to for chef hopefuls to become a part of it.
Sources
About the Author
Kelly Richardson has the inside track on all of the hottest career paths and resources. His articles appear career journals, periodicals, and e-zines.
Posted on January 31, 2007 at 11:29 AM
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