#culinaryartsschool

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July is National Culinary Arts Month and we’re honoring this occasion by talking about our favorite Culinary Arts program: ProStart! 

If you’re not familiar with ProStart, it’s a nationwide, two-year high school program that reaches nearly 150,000 students in more than 1,900 high schools. From culinary techniques to management skills, ProStart’s industry-driven curriculum provides real-life experience opportunities and builds practical skills and a foundation that will last a lifetime.

ProStart students spend two years in the classroom mastering the fundamental management and culinary skills needed for success. ProStart trains students on industry-specific skills that can be used in all aspects of the restaurant and foodservice industry.

Students also leave the program with employability skills – like leadership, accountability, teamwork, and responsibility – that they can take with them to positions in all industries.

At the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation, we believe that education is the key to building future industry leaders. That’s why our educators are dedicated to developing our current workforce and future leaders, both in the classroom and beyond.

ProStart is the cornerstone program of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation and we’re so proud to take part in developing the future leaders of the culinary arts field! 

Cooking Basics that apply to all of us

​One generally ends up having to do a lot more cooking than what was actually planned to. Be it a small party at home or a larger get together or even a wanting to set up a catering business, it starts somewhere.

You can use simple tips and tricks to cook healthy meals, bake yummy desserts, throw a fabulous party, and save time in the kitchen. Did we say time?! Yes. That ingredient, we just can’t have enough of. With a bit of planning, some expert advice, and proper ingredients, you’ll be cooking delicious meals in no time — even if you consider yourself a kitchen novice and haven’t we all been there?

Tips for Reading Recipes before Cooking

Preparing, understanding, and completing a recipe require looking ahead and thoroughly reading the recipe before you start cooking or baking. The last thing you want is to start off on your tenderloin steak and realize you’ve run out of pepper. Make sure that you’re prepared.

You often see professional chefs at Food Network doing a dish almost effortlessly always keep in mind that they have an extensive experience in cooking—blood, sweat and tears were shed before they got to where they are. So if you want to follow their footsteps, save yourself from a cooking catastrophe or at least lessen the time that you spend in your kitchen here are some valuable tips on how to read a recipe.

Read through the recipe at least twice to make sure that you understand the directions.

Make sure that you can perform all the techniques. Intent is a lot different from the follow through.

Look at the recipe yield and decide if the number of servings is what you need. If not, consider whether you should cut the ingredient amounts in half or double them.

Check that you have all the necessary equipment and ingredients.

Make sure that you have enough time before serving to prepare and cook the recipe.

Check whether you can (or need to) make any part of the recipe ahead of time.

Read through the ingredients to see whether you like them all, as well as whether the recipe has too much fat, sugar, or salt for your dietary needs. Getting these basics right is essential.

Check whether you need to use an ingredient, such as butter or oil, at different stages in the recipe so that you don’t make the mistake of using that ingredient all at once. There are very few short cuts that come to this exercise and you figure them out with experience over time.

Find out whether you need to preheat the oven. Ok, do you even have an oven? That would be a good start?!