MHS Culinary Café

Curriculum

 

Course Description

 

This course is designed to offer students the opportunity to expand and apply their knowledge in the operation of a school-based restaurant. The MHS Culinary Café will be a student based endeavor, providing experience in commercial food production, customer service and restaurant management. Students will have the opportunity to connect skills with work-based practice.

Students and staff will determine various culinary products to be covered through out this course. These products will include; breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner menu items, take-out meals, bakeshop products and MHS Culinary Cafe specialty items.

 

Objectives

 

• Students to name the staff members and explain the job descriptions in the operation of a restaurant.
• Students to fulfill roles of food service employees as they operate MHS Culinary Cafe.
• Students to apply strategies for resolving customer issues, related to food service positions Student will recall knowledge of workplace safety and sanitation guidelines for food service.
• Students to recognize correct information about, food: receiving, storing, preparation, holding, and service, on commercial foodservice safety/sanitation exam.
• Students to apply safety and sanitation standards to the operation of the

MHS Culinary Café.

• Students to determine the relationship between an employee’s actions and customer satisfaction.
• Students will identify the role and duties of each member of the service staff.
• Students will practice service skills that exceed the expectations of the customer, during simulation of MHS Culinary Café.
• Students will apply service skills that exceed the expectation of the customers during the operation of the MHS Culinary Café.
• Students to list and explain the principles of menu-planning.
• Students to define at least three special dietary needs that challenge menu-planners.
• Students to plan interesting menus that offer good nutrition and variety.
• Students to practice using the factor method and mark-on –cost method of pricing menu items.
• Students to identify two basic methods restaurants can increase profits:
• Students to explain the measurements of food-cost percentages, and how these relate to profits.
• Students to analyze the relation between pricing and profit outcomes, formulating plans to improve the profit margin of MHS Culinary Café.
• Student to demonstrate correct knife handling and at least three cutting techniques.
• Students to identify preparation, cooking, holding and serving equipment in a commercial kitchen.
• Students to apply knowledge of commercial equipment in the operation of the MHS Culinary Café.
• Students to compare and contrast typical commercial kitchen, work stations and work sections.
• Students to demonstrate ability to operate efficiently in each workstation of MHS Culinary Café.
• Students to describe the steps in planning for pre-preparation, Mise en place.
• Students to organize the pre-preparation for the operation of the MHS Culinary Café.
• Students to demonstrate use of mise en place techniques in the operation of the MHS Culinary Café.
• Students to execute cooking methods; moist heat, dry heat and other emerging technologies.

 

Requirements and Expectations

 

Students taking this course will facilitate the operation of the MHS Culinary Café in different capacities. It is expected that students will assume roles to include, management, preparation and service positions, in both the front and the back of the house. Each student’s active participation in this endeavor is critical to student success and the success of the MHS Culinary Café. Lessons related to various techniques in the food service field are taught within this course. Students will be required to follow school rules while maintaining work-based standards. Students will be assessed using a variety of methods, as described in the curriculum. Montville High Schools’ rubrics for process and community behavior will be utilized in the grading of this course. As in all of the FACS courses, the current State Frameworks have been incorporated to insure students develop skills needed to pursue culinary careers.

Students who successfully completed Basic Foods and two additional Culinary courses, (MHS Culinary Café is one option), may receive tech-prep credit at Three Rivers Community College. The following is an outline of the topics to be covered in this course.