Introduction

This course emphasizes the scope of the hospitality and tourism industry.  Students will study food origins, food-handling techniques and food preparation, health and safety standards, and the use of specialized tools and equipment.  They will also develop effective communication and management skills, and identify career opportunities in the hospitality and tourism industry. 


To get started in this course, you should do some thinking about what you already know about food and food preparation.  Explore these questions without using any outside research.  Take some time to think about the questions and to formulate your answers. 



In this course, you will be exposed to various cooking methods and culinary traditions.  The key expectations are to try different foods with an open mind and to work safely.  If you do these things, you will also learn the skills and techniques necessary to prepare meals from recipes.



Your first assignment is an informal research report.  Your report should be 250-400 words long, and can include tables and charts if needed.  In this assignment, you will explore the major cultural influence in your family's cooking and compare it with one from the list below.  You will need to do research on both cultural traditions.

For each of the two cultural traditions, you must:

• identify it by name
• indicate its geographical origins
• explain how popular it is in your community (school, town, region, city, province)
• list 4 popular ingredients
• list 2 popular ways of cooking (eg. boiling, frying)
• name 5 popular dishes
• list 4 popular spices and each of their smells/tastes/purposes
• describe which dishes/techniques have become very popular, beyond the original community

Cultural Traditions:

• European Jewish
• Asian
• Italian
• African
• Moroccan
• French

Make sure you list your sources and give all information in your own words!

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Food Safety

When working with food, whether in a household or in a professional kitchen, it is imperative that health and safety procedures and standards be followed.  It is the responsibility of the person preparing the food to monitor the cleanliness of the working environment, equipment, raw materials and facility.  Failure to adhere to these guidelines could result in illness to family or clientele.

Using the internet, answer the following questions in your own words.  Submit answers for formative assessment.  This research activity must be completed before proceeding to the assignment for this module or proceeding to any other modules.

1. What causes food-borne illness?
2. What four criteria are necessary for the growth of bacteria?
3. What are 3 basic rules of sanitation?
4. List four ways that food contamination might occur.
5. What is cross-contamination?  Provide an example.
6. List and explain 4 ways to prevent cross-contamination.
7. Complete the following chart:

Pathogen Name	Food Type Affected	Prevention Method
E.Coli
Staphylococcus
Botulism
Salmonella

8. List the steps to correct hand-washing.
9. What are 7 major causes of food-borne illness
10. When referring to food storage, what is the 'temperature danger zone'?
11. What are the steps to properly washing dishes?





The following websites may help you with the next assignment.

Solve the following case studies.  Answers should be in sentence and paragraph form.  Submit answers for summative assessment.

Case 1
Ghengis is having Cleopatra over for dinner. Ghengis lives in a small apartment with only a single sink and a single chopping block.  He would like to prepare Steak Tartar, fries with homemade mayonnaise, and coleslaw.  He knows food safety is a concern, and needs your advice on how to prepare these dishes safely.  Map out the order he should do things, keeping in mind sanitation, cross-contamination, the 'danger zone' and recipe specifications.

Case 2
Jimmy Jang is going camping with his buddies.  The perfect campsite is a 3 hour hike into the woods.  They pride themselves on being 'foodies'.  The menu for the first nights includes: chicken cordon bleu, creamy potato salad with chives, fresh green salad from Jimmy's mom's garden, fresh berries foraged from the woods with creme fraiche for dessert.  They plan on preparing everthing on site from fresh ingredients. Create a chart that indicates each health and sanitation risk and how it can be prevented.  Be detailed and thorough.


Kitchen Safety

Basic Knife Safety
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/25958-basic-knife-skills

Food Basics

Kitchen How-To Videos


Knife Safety

The use of a knife will be one of the most important skills you will learn, and you will continue to refine your skills throughout your cooking career.  Serious accidents happen in professional and home kitchens every day due to the misuse of kitchen knives.  There are very simple rules to learn and once these are put to memory and practiced, you will become a safe and efficient cook.

Simple Rules to follow to ensure knife safety:

• Keep Your Knives Sharp!  A dull knife is more dangerous than a perfectly sharpened knife, as a dull knife requires more pressure to cut and may slip.  Sharp knives will slice easily and allow you to maintain control.
• Always cut with the blade of the knife angled away from you.
• Never try to open a can or bottle with a knife or use a knife as a screwdriver.  Don't use a knife to cut string, bones, metal, or paper.
• Always use a cutting board and keep it firmly in place by placing a damp towel or paper towel underneath it.  The friction created will hold it in place.
• Never cut anything that is placed in your hand.  Use the board and make sure there is lots of space for the task.
• Keep fingers away from the path of the blade!
• Use the right knife for the job: paring knives for paring, a chef's knife for chopping or mincing, a slicing knife for slicing, etc.  They are designed with a task in mind and are safest and most effective when used appropriately.
• Hand-wash your knives and dry thoroughly.  Never put knives into the dishwasher or drop them into a sink filled with sudsy water (where they will be out of sight, and likely to cause accidents for the dishwasher!). Always hold a knife by its handle, never the blade.
• Store knives properly - a knife block or knife rack is best.  If you are storing knives in a drawer, make sure to keep them in a separate compartment, away from other utensils.
• If you should happen to drop a knife, don't try to catch it.  Step back alertly and wait until the knife comes to a complete rest before picking it up.  Keep your mind focused on the job when using a knife.

There are different types of knife cuts you will be using throughout the course.  Visit some of the above websites, practice cuts shown under adult supervision and fill in the chart below to get an understanding of the different types.

Knife Cut Name	Description	Recipes Used In
Julienne
Brunoise
Chiffonade
Large Dice
Batonnet
Paysene
Dicing
Mincing