Academic Catalog 2024-2025

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Culinary Arts (CULA)

CULA 1000 — Introduction to Culinary Arts   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 3; Lab Hours: 0 This course provides students with a basic understanding of the hospitality industry and serves as a foundation for later specialized courses in the food service industry.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 1020 — Basic Food Preparation   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 2; Lab Hours: 3 This introductory-level cooking skills course covers methods, measurement, vocabulary terms, standard recipes, preparation, and presentations of soups, salads, meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, starches, sandwiches, hors d’oeuvres, breakfast, international cuisine, and baked products.

Co-requisite(s): CULA 1050

Schedule type: Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 1050 — Sanitation   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course covers safe food- handling procedures and microbiological concerns. Students take a certification examination upon completion of the course.

Co-requisite(s): CULA 1020

Schedule type: Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 1100 — Culinary Nutrition   3 credit hours

Discussion of the Food Pyramid, essential nutrients, and the importance of meeting nutritional needs throughout the life cycle when planning menus. The goal of this course is to understand the science of how nutrients in food are ingested, digested, absorbed, transported and utilized to build and maintain the body.

Schedule type: Lecture, Web

CULA 1500 — Baking   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course provides students with an overview of baking. Students perform practical baking applications. The course also includes the physical and chemical nature of yeast products, quick breads, cakes and icings, cookies, and pies.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Web

CULA 1600 — Advanced Baking   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course provides students with an in-depth study, including both theory and hands-on experience, of baking and performing advanced baking applications. These more complex areas of baking include artisan breads, specialty breads, brioche, Danish pastry, croissants, genoise, puff pastry, and gingerbread display pieces.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Web

CULA 1650 — World Cuisines   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 3; Lab Hours: 0 This course provides a history and progression of world cuisines, including influences of geography, politics, religion, and cultural characteristics. Emphasis is placed on international and regional America foodways.

Schedule type: Lecture

CULA 1700 — Food Service Management I   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course covers the principles and practices of food, beverage, equipment, and supply purchasing for hotel and restaurant operations. It also covers U.S.D.A. grades for produce and meats.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Laboratory, Lecture, Web

CULA 1750 — Meat, Poultry, and Seafood   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course helps students develop the skills necessary to identify types of meat, poultry, and seafood; to evaluate grade, quality, and yield percentages; and to perform advanced preparations and presentations.

Pre-requisite(s): CULA 1000, CULA 1020, CULA 1050

Schedule type: Hybrid less than 50%, Independent Study, Web

CULA 1800 — Soups, Stocks, and Sauces   3 credit hours

Lecture hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course covers the foundations of basic stocks and their relationship to classic soups and sauces. Students prepare soups, stocks, and sauces in a commercial kitchen.

Pre-requisite(s): CULA 1000, CULA 1020, CULA 1050

Schedule type: Independent Study, Web

CULA 1900 — Garde Manger Management   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course includes preparations from the pantry station including hors d’oeuvres, patés, galantines, mousses, vegetable carvings, and tallow sculptures.

Pre-requisite(s): CULA 1000, CULA 1020, CULA 1050

Schedule type: Independent Study

CULA 2020 — Externship Program   2 credit hours

Lecture Hours:0; Lab Hours: 2 Under the supervision of a professional chef or manager in a related field, the student works for a minimum of 250 hours in a commercial food service establishment approved by the program manager. This externship provides students with the opportunity to develop speed with manual skills, to increase their professional experience, and to work in real-life situations.

Pre-requisite(s): CULA 1500, CULA 1750, CULA 1800

Schedule type: Externship, Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 2710 — Food Service Management II   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course addresses the methods of controlling cost in the food service industry through the four steps of establishing standards, training, monitoring, and correcting. These steps are applied to purchasing, receiving, and accounting for food, beverages, and labor.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Laboratory, Lecture, Web

CULA 2730 — Food Service Management III   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 3; Lab Hours:0 This course establishes principles of effective supervision, including human relations, motivation, communication, correct training principles, interview of staff, and discipline. It emphasizes working with supervisors in the food service and hospitality industries.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Laboratory, Lecture, Web

CULA 2750 — FSM IV- Hosp & Rest Mgmt   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours: 0 This course focuses on Hospitality Management and Restaurant Management topics. It includes essential content plus learning activities, case studies, professional profiles, research topics and more that support course objectives.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 2770 — Desserts and Patisserie   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 3; Lab Hours:0 This is a hands-on course in the production of classic desserts, including international and domestic desserts.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 2800 — Culinary Seminar   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours:3; Lab Hours:0 This course acquaints students with trends and issues in the food service industry through workshops, demonstrations, and guest speakers. Topics include the marriage of food and wine, legal issues of the server’s responsibility with alcoholic beverages, and food-service computer applications.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Lecture, Web

CULA 2850 — Culinary Practicum   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 0; Lab Hours :3 This practical course uses kitchen and dining room areas to prepare and serve high-quality lunches. Students are involved in the planning, organizing, preparation, service, and sanitation of every function. Managerial concepts of food and labor cost, scheduling, purchasing, and menu planning are an integral part of this course.

Schedule type: Independent Study, Laboratory, Practicum

CULA 2900 — International Cuisine   3 credit hours

Lecture Hours: 1; Lab Hours: 2 This is an advanced level cooking skills course covering the evolving nature of world cuisines. It will introduce preparation, taste, and evaluation of cuisines of Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. The emphasis is ingredients, flavor profiles, preparation and techniques representative of food pathways leading toward modern fusion cuisines.

Pre-requisite(s): CULA 1750, CULA 1800

Schedule type: Practicum, Web