Thursday, June 27, 2013

Kitchen Management Courses Focus on Offering Students Practical Know-How

"The hospitality program is a great master plan for those who want to pursue a career in this industry," says Severo Vitorio Pastor, a graduate of Centennial College’s Hospitality Operations – Kitchen Management offering. "Each subject truly equips us with the knowledge, skills and experiences that we need to become successful in our field."

This insight from Severo demonstrates just how streamlined the Kitchen Management courses within this offering are to ensure that students spend their time only learning the know-how they truly need. As such, topics covered within the Kitchen Management courses include a range of hands-on kitchen experience, as well as business practices in accounting, human resources, and supervision. This balance is offered through the learning of skills such as: sanitation, hygiene and safety, as well as quantity food preparation, theory of food, practical supervision of food production, customer service, human resources and career planning, hospitality accounting, practical math, purchasing for the commercial kitchen, and many others.

To allow students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in their Kitchen Management courses prior to graduation, Centennial College offers a range of practical applications. Not only are some classes conducted from the school’s on-campus living lab-restaurant called Horizons, but students also have the opportunity to attend a hospitality program field placement. During this time, students obtain meaningful work experience in approved jobs within the food service industry, adding another educational dimension to their career preparation. Field placement also enables learners to better understand the dynamics of the industry, increases their knowledge of industry practices, and provides a competitive advantage of experience in the job market. In addition to the important career preparation that students of this hospitality program receive through the field placement, the company with which they spend time also hires many full-time. Among this hospitality program’s industry partners are: Moxie’s Grill & Bar, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey’s, Milestones, Red Lobster, Jack Astor’s, and many others. 

Applicants interested in obtaining an Ontario College Certificate, and the Smart Serve program and the National Sanitation Training certificates from this hospitality program, must first go through an application process. Interested parties are required to have completed, at minimum, an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or be 19 years of age or older. Students must also have attended the compulsory English 12C or U, or skills assessment or equivalent. It should be noted that possession of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission to the hospitality program.

With the training obtained in these Kitchen Management hospitality courses, students may enter the second year of Centennial’s two-year Food and Beverage Management program. This further study will provide them with different opportunities and more knowledge. On the other hand, graduates are fully prepared for work as food operations managers. In this position they will plan, organize and direct a varied staff of food service personnel in a many types of food service operations, including catering and banquet, restaurants, or specialty snack food service.

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