The new Culinary Education Center of Monmouth County is offered through a collaboration between Brookdale Community College and the Monmouth County Vocational School District. The program brings comprehensive, innovative food preparation and management education to area residents.
The Culinary Arts Center`s multi-level approach answers the training needs not only of entry-level food service employees, but also of experienced chefs who wish to refresh or build their skills.
Culinary Arts instructors use a fast-paced, in-depth teaching system which combines theory and practice in areas such as nutrition, sanitation, food production, cost control and management.
Learning Options
Students may earn an Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Culinary Arts degree, to prepare to work in hotels, restaurants, commercial and institutional kitchens and food production facilities related to the hospitality and service industries.
Career-related courses, based on extensive input from food and service industry professionals, are targeted to such areas as inventory/storeroom management, a la carte cooking, baking, patisserie, buffet and banquet work, front-of-the-house operation, stewarding and kitchen management; and general education and elective courses that complete a well-rounded education.
The degree program is designed to be completed in 4 full Brookdale terms (2 academic years) with a goal-oriented "externship" experience in a food-related business or facility after the second or third term. The degree is made up of 51.5 career-related credits, 20 general education credits and 3 credits of electives.
(A related A.A.S. degree in Food Service Management is available through the Business Department at Brookdale`s main campus.)
Certificates
For those already working in the field or exploring a new career, a shorter Culinary Arts Certificate program concentrates on supervision, sanitation, purchasing and food preparation skills.
Or choose the Pastry Certificate, a concentration of baking and pastry skills for those interested in working as a pastry chef or in a commercial bakery.
Certificate study totals 34.5 credits, of which 22.5 are career-related, 9 are general education and 3 are elective. Passage of the SERV-SAFE sanitation examination is necessary for certificate completion.
Students may apply most of the certificate credits to the Associate in Applied Science degree. Professionals and interested persons looking to polish or add skills may enroll, on a space-available basis, in individual courses that meet their particular goals.
