#culinaryschoolsdubai

When it comes to furthering your education or nurturing your Knowledge & Skills set, but are worried about the time and place, then online education is your solution.  Online Education Programs are an option that offer convenience of time to learn from home. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), as they call it are online learning modules available to the public regardless of their geographic location or education level. It is a model for learning online for anyone who wants to take a course at their own pace and schedule.  A typical MOOC has more or less defined topics of study, facilitators and assessments. Students watch short video lectures online, read through online content and complete the assignments based on which certifications are provided.

Here, at the International Centre for Culinary Arts – ICCA Dubai, we have taken a joint initiative with Fatafeat to provide an online education platform that is, Fatafeat ICCA Academy Online for Culinary enthusiasts, to deliver a new way of learning food. Fatafeat is a subsidiary of Takhayal Entertainment which is a part of Discovery Communications, and is Middle East’s first and only Arab free-to air food channel. We all are familiar with Discovery Communications in the television world. It is the world’s #1 pay-tv programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories.

The Fatafeat ICCA Online Academy program is based on the innovative idea of bringing together Television and Online media to effectively deliver Certified Culinary Education accredited by City & Guilds, London. The accreditation by City & Guilds is given due to the program’s high level of quality instructions, online materials and support for learners, all of which will allow you to achieve the Fundamentals of Culinary and Home Kitchen Skills. Upon the successful completion of the specified “Online Assessments” from  Fatafeat ICCA Academy Online, an accredited program certificate from City & Guilds London is awarded to the candidate.

The basic idea of these online programs is to develop new skills and build expertise in a specialized area to update your knowledge & skills, professional profile, advance your career, or just to broaden your knowledge base at the comfort of your home, and you could begin whenever you wish.

Let’s take a look at the benefits and advantages of MOOC’s.

Choice of language; The MOOC classes happen in more than one language. It does not matter what language you speak, subtitles are always available and they are just a click away. You can follow the Fatafeat ICCA Online Academy in English or Arabic.

Learning at your own pace and space; Learning happens in a more informal setting, at a place of your convenience and often around your own schedule. Our online culinary courses have deadlines for tests and assessments, but they are easy to keep up with. You can even serve the dishes you make for your assignment to your family as a meal.

No age and qualification constraints; You don’t need a degree or previous knowledge to follow the course, only the willingness to learn and interest for the subject is needed. Someone as young as 13 can sign up for this program.

Learn from anywhere; You can learn the courses offered by universities or institute around the world sitting in the comfort of your home. Through our MOOC program you will have ICCA Dubai in your home!

Choosing the right career path; Doing a MOOC will help you decide whether to go for higher studies in that particular subject so as to make a career in the same. The Fatafeat ICCA Academy Online is a perfect platform to take you into the world of professional culinary education.

City & Guilds London established in 1873, is the world’s largest Vocational Awarding Body. Certifies over 1.3 Million students annually the world over and helps increase an individual’s value proposition and competitiveness within the Global market. Their accreditation is recognized as a sign of quality in over a 100 countries around the world and are used both by Governments and Industries. This Online program and accreditation will not only provide in depth knowledge in the subject but will also help in molding a career path in Culinary Arts.

When I was a kid, I loved to watch my Grandma & Grand dad both good Bakers, as they baked in their kitchen. It was fun to see how they turned simple ingredients into Sweet Magic.

This Sweet Magic inspired me to become a Pastry Chef. I continue to follow their practice Baking from the Heart and with Passion and try to bring the same flavors’ in the Cakes as they both once used to make.

When looking for some nice desserts in a place like Dubai, one generally tends to see two distinct kinds of  concepts:

Look fancy and beautiful, but taste not as nice as it looks.

Look simple and not so attractive, but taste it, you simply love it.

For me, the first and most important thing about a Cake is the look, it has to be something, “Wow, how and who made that kind!” and when tasted, the flavors should actually beat the looks!

The appearance might not be very important when we bake at home but  then the taste is.  However, when you make something good for others or if you are a Professional Pastry Chef and also expect people to spend their money on it, then good appearances do matter as much as good taste.

Growing up seeing my grandparents and also other “old time” Pastry Chefs baking, still can clearly remember the flavors they had created then. Now for me not only making good flavors but with a beautiful texture and nice structure is the next most important thing in a Cake for me.

When we have a fantastic flavor, playful texture and an exciting structure then our Cake has a story, to create a harmonic composition that connects the look, the feel and also taste to greatly experience.

I like both, the  new exciting flavors and also the very traditional tastes.

As Professionals we need to convince our customers about our product and then we need to ensure that they will never forget what they have seen and tasted.

When I bake, my main focus is on the uniqueness in the quality of flavor and also the fancy in the look of it.

Lately the trend around the World is actually to value the “old fashioned” baking and turning back to the traditional Artisan ways in Pastry, Bread, Gelato and Chocolate as against the “Soul-less” industrial mass production.

One of the many questions I am asked is “what does it take to become a chef”. In an industry that was male dominated, the obvious answer some two & half dozen years back, would probably have been balls of steel. I recall working in a small but luxury hotel abroad were I was introduced to my first encounter with Shirley; my Head chef … Shirley ruled that kitchen with a rod of iron, I swear to this day that she had eyes on the back of her head . Chef commanded a reasonably large kitchen brigade, to operate the bistro style bar menu as well as the fine dining restaurant. I quickly rose through the ranks from chef de party to senior Sous Chef.

In an industry were words such as innovative, talented, gifted and sublime are words to describe some of the most influential Chefs within our industry, culinary giants such as Angela Hartnett, Elena Arzak ,Helen Riza, Clare Smyth, Hèlèn Darroze and Jenny Morris (to name but a few) is most certainly not the answer that I would be inclined to give for fear of being chopped up into brunoise!

So back to my original question, What does it take to become a chef? Whilst it is not a requirement, most wannabe chefs will go to a world renowned culinary institute. Here, the International Centre for Culinary Arts (ICCA Dubai) is one of those institutes. All chefs must have a high degree of training, technical skills, experience and management skills, leadership and time management skills, Able to multi task with kitchen equipment and to a degree with staff. Basically like a musical conductor. Twelve plus hours a day six days a week is extremely commonplace. Take a large pinch of dedication and sprinkle over obsession; you might just have what it takes to become a CHEF!

As we are celebrating The Holidays and U.S. celebrates National Chocolate Day yesterday and today here is a delicious recipe that is a MUST TRY.

Quick to make. Easily portable and above mouth watering.

When you do give it a try post a picture on Facebook and tag ICCA DUBAI or post it on Instagram and tag @iccadubai #iccadubai

Compliments of the season!

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND PECAN FUDGE

Yield: 30 small pieces

Ingredients:

1 Cup (250gm) Butter

1.5 Cup (375ml) Milk

2.5 Cup (500gm) Granulated sugar

1 Cup (120gm) Pecans (chopped)

1 tsp Vanilla extract or essence

4 oz (125gm) White Chocolate (finely chopped)

Method:

Oil an 8 x 10 inch (20 x 25cm) baking pan.

Place the butter milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.

Bring to boil and stir until the sugar begins to dissolve.

Simmer the mixture until it reaches the soft ball stage (The soft ball stage is when you spoon a tiny bit of mixture on your palm and it can be rolled into a soft ball.)

Remove from the heat and beat until the mixture starts to thicken which will take about 5 minutes.

Add the chocolate and stir until it has melted.

Fold in the pecan nuts and pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Let it cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator until set which will take 2-3 hours.

Cut into 1 inch (2.5m) pieces.

The discussion on healthy food or rather unhealthy food is never-ending. There are many dimensions to this discussion. So, is home cooked food healthy? Or is clean, hygienic food, healthy? Or is food low in calories, low on sugar or low on fat healthy?  Should we go ‘organic’ or should we take the ‘GMO-free’ route? Sure enough, different people have different takes on what is “healthy”. To understand this better, we need to understand what ‘healthy food’ means.

I would say ‘A food’ that contributes positively towards the physical and mental well-being of an individual is healthy food. In most cases, we cannot take up the topic of ‘healthy food’ in isolation. It is highly intertwined with one’s lifestyle and an individual’s medical condition and needs. There is no universal ‘mantra’ for eating healthy.

Fruits and vegetables are in general very healthy and if you include a variety of them in your diet you would most likely get your daily requirement of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, dietary fibres and believe it or not protein. However, one may argue, what if it is Genetically Modified or if it is laden with chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Is it still healthy? If we cook our food don’t we lose a lot of these nutrients?

Let’s examine meat, poultry, game and seafood in our diet. They are an excellent source of protein and iron. They also provide essential amino acids and essential fatty acids. Seafood is a good source of vitamin A & D, Omega 3 & 6 and a host of minerals. The scientific community has long suspected that the inclusion of fish in the early human diet significantly contributed to the development of the human brain. But we cannot ignore the fact that seafood may have abnormally high concentrations of chemical toxins and heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead. This is due to the dumping of industrial wastes into our rivers and oceans. FDA recommends limiting the intake of fish high on the food chain, such as sharks and mackerels, to 2 serving a week. Red meat and animal fat have significantly high cholesterol and may lead to a build-up of high uric acid levels in the body.

To Become a Professional Chef Expert in Dubai

Professional Sugarcraft Programs / Courses at Top Culinary School in Dubai