Professional Chef’s Program

The Professional Chef’s Program (PCP) delves deep into the science and art of international cooking and pastry techniques. The program is composed of courses in basic techniques, baking, regional cuisines, and intensive classical French techniques.

As a graduate of the CSCA Professional Chef’s Program, you will be prepared for positions such as line cook, sous chef, caterer, personal chef, and CSCA recreational instructor. Many graduates have gone on to quickly launch successful ventures of their own including restaurants, food delivery services, and specialty food shops.

• Complete over 740 hours of culinary training and education over 37 weeks
• Scheduling flexibility in selecting two (eight-hour) days of laboratory instruction and three hours of seminar instruction weekly
• Intimate, hands-on laboratories working with instructors in a 12 to 1 student to instructor ratio
• Graded coursework includes lab performance, quizzes, seminar exams and projects, events, mid-term exams, final practicum, portfolio, creative practicum, and final written exam
• Event credits may be fulfilled through teaching assistantships, offsite event support, and additional culinary opportunities as presented.

These lab classes build upon the skills and techniques acquired in the Culinary Certificate Program, delving deeper into hands-on exploration of different cuisines and techniques, adding to your marketability and versatility in the culinary industry.

Provincial French:

Discover the world’s most celebrated style of cooking in this intensive exploration of France. Study political and geographical influences that shaped each region’s signature style through an in-depth exploration of the regional dishes, ingredients, and flavors found throughout the country.

Prepare authentic meals, taste and evaluate cheese and wine pairings, and develop your understanding of the subtle and extreme differences that identify the distinct characteristics of each region.

Italian:

Travel the culinary landscape of Italy, experiencing the history, folklore, and natural geography that have shaped one of the world’s most popular cuisines. Each of Italy’s unique regions can be defined by local ingredients, a simplistic approach to cooking, and an emphasis on robust flavors.

Discover authentic Italian cuisine, the art of hand-shaping pasta, cheese and wine pairings, and traditional ingredients from across the regions.

Intensive French Cuisine:

Learn the intricate and advanced techniques of French cooking that have shaped the meaning of fine dining from classical to haute to nouvelle cuisine. Trace the history of cuisine in France and discover the contributions of the great chefs and leaders who paved the way.

Practice classic garde manger techniques from working with aspics, forcemeats, and charcuterie to presenting stunning pâtés, terrines, and galantines.

Follow the haute cuisine movement, which emphasized service à la russe (serving meals in courses) and formalized the use of mother sauces and elaborate presentation. This course concludes with an introduction to nouvelle cuisine, the movement in which classical French cuisine was rediscovered and modernized.

Asian Fusion:

Transport yourself across the globe by studying and working with the ingredients, techniques, and dishes found in China, Japan, India, Vietnam, and Thailand. Learn the styles and flavor profiles unique to each country and start to unfurl the mystery of fusion cuisine.

American:

Discover American cuisine from New England to the deep South to the Pacific Northwest. Learn how early Americans incorporated elements from their native cuisines and made them uniquely their own with the introduction of local and regional ingredients.

Create and evaluate traditional and modern recipes within the context of their historical and cultural frameworks.