Academics - School of Culinary Arts - A.A.S. Culinary Arts Accelerated
Overview
If you already have a Bachelor degree, Kendall’s A.A.S. Accelerated Culinary Arts program puts you on the fast track to an Associate degree in the Culinary Arts. A unique offering, our accelerated program lets you earn your two-year degree in an abbreviated time frame while enjoying the same high-caliber culinary curriculum, award-winning faculty, and rigorous hands-on experience of our traditional A.A.S. Culinary Arts degree program. You'll become well-versed in the art and science of cooking and acquire critical business management knowledge that equips you to succeed in today’s competitive job environments. Starting with culinary basics, the accelerated program culminates with you cooking in a fine dining setting overlooking the city of Chicago.
Upon graduation, you will have the professional skills, attitude, and knowledge needed to launch a culinary career and grow into a leadership position. You can also continue on to earn a Bachelor degree in Culinary Arts, a highly recommended next step for students who want to achieve their full potential in the culinary profession.
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Program Description
The program is organized by quarters, each one designed to add or strengthen the tools in your professional toolbox. After the first and fifth quarters, you take a comprehensive practical exam to demonstrate your mastery of new concepts and techniques. When you graduate, it will be with pride, knowing that you have built a solid foundation of professional-caliber, hands-on culinary skills and business principles in just five quarters, one quarter less than is required by our traditional A.A.S. Culinary Arts degree program.
Quarter 1 (16 credits)
This quarter introduces you to the professional kitchen. The classes generally start with a lecture and a demonstration followed by 4 hours of hands-on experience in the kitchen. Classes involve hours of practice time designed to let you hone your skills to do everything from mastering specific knife cuts, such as julienne, to deboning a chicken and filleting a fish. You will learn how to season as you become familiar with soups, stocks, and sauces. You will learn cooking methods such as frying, poaching, and braising and why particular methods of cooking are more appropriate for certain ingredients. You will also learn how to optimize the ingredients on hand and begin to think about the way you present the food that you create. You will learn how to identify and successfully purchase products and ensure their quality. You will also learn how to manage a storeroom, including accepting goods and managing vendors. You will also learn about information systems that can assist you with ordering and tracking. Courses include:
- CUL111 Intro to Professional Cookery
- CUL112 Intro to Stocks, Sauces & Soups
- CUL114 Sanitation
- CUL117 Intro to Garde Manger
- CUL118 Methods of Cooking
- CUL119 Product ID & Storeroom
- CUL126 Professional Development
- HOS254 Dining Room Service
Quarter 2 (16 credits)
Quarter 2 introduces students to Baking and Pastry techniques, everything from yeast-based breads to puff pastry, cakes and other sweets. For half of this quarter, you will focus on speed, quality production, and teamwork in our café classroom, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Taking on different roles in the kitchen, you will be responsible for producing meals on time or cooking to order at action stations located around the café. You also will learn to efficiently cook for hundreds of guests. For the second half, you will focus on individual speed and food quality and be introduced to the business side of cooking.
During this block, our Career Services team will help you develop professionally, assisting you with resume building and mock interviews to prepare you for the internship you want.
- CUL122 Cost Control
- CUL116 Nutrition
- CUL124 Quantity Food Production I
- CUL139 Advanced Skills
- CUL143 Baking & Pastry I
- CUL144 Baking & Pastry II
Quarter 3 (12 credits)
During the 3rd quarter, you will complete an internship, gaining first-hand experience in the industry and honing your skills for the advanced coursework in Quarters 4 and 5. As a student, you might find a placement at a restaurant, hotel, bakery, or food lab, to name a few options. Kendall’s Career Services team will assist you in obtaining a position that aligns with your career objectives, needs, and skills. You will also complete an online course to improve your writing skills.
- CUL200 Culinary Externship
Quarter 4 (15 credits)
You will take classes designed to advance your knowledge of meat and fish cookery, sauce preparation, Garde Mange (cold food preparation), and presentation. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your talent for customers when you prepare elaborate meals in our fine dining restaurant. Working with a teammate, you will prepare specialized platters of cold food—terrines, pâtes, sausage, and the like—to be presented and served as part of the Grand Buffet - a festive, themed banquet. Courses include:
- CUL252 Advanced Garde Manger
- CUL254 Advanced Sauces & Fish Cookery
- CUL256 Advanced Sauces & Meat Cookery
- CUL233 Food Service Management
- CUL255 (Catering) or CUL281 (Symposium
Quarter five is show time. You will synthesize all that you have learned and put your skills to the test in a fine dining facility. Kendall’s own Zagat rated restaurant serves as the backdrop for this final culinary course in which you prepare meals to order from a full-service menu. Rotating in stations around a European-style kitchen, you will cook and plate everything from appetizers to daily specials to desserts for customers who have come to experience all that Kendall has to offer. Other courses during this quarter expand your knowledge by explaining what it takes to open your own restaurant, run a catering business, or work in a banquet facility. Courses include:
Total Needed for A.A.S. Accelerated Culinary Arts: 96