Culinary Arts: High School Elective Fine Arts Course

The text book we are using, the plans for a full credit course, and a free printable notebook

A Culinary Arts Course for High School Fine Arts Credit

Why culinary arts? Well, many years ago when my first boy was still very little and I was very pregnant with my second son I realized that unless I wanted to be always in the kitchen for the next 20 years I would need to teach them how to cook. So we started with fun things like lemonade, baking, and taste-testing icing. They have grown up cooking and both enjoy it very much.

**Full disclosure- I love cooking and hospitality. I always have. I’ve also worked in food service and was awarded a scholarship to Johnson and Wales (that I did not accept because I decided I didn’t want to cook for a living- God’s sense of humor then gave me a husband and two growing boys I get to cook for all the time 🤣). Cooking is both an art and a passion and if you aren’t “a cook”, you can absolutely learn right alongside your child!**

When it came time to lay out a general High School plan, neither was super excited about doing actual art classes- we’ve done many and while they enjoy it, both have artistic hobbies (leather craft, black smithing, wood working, and now, apparently, stained glass but that’s another story) and wanted to do something different. So I asked about culinary arts since they both enjoy cooking and they were excited to make a task they enjoy into a credit.

I know there is almost nothing more helpful in the world than when other moms share their already-done-lesson plans with you for a subject you need! I was over the moon when our sweet Rector’s wife sent me her lesson plans for Easy Grammar Plus for my boys for this year because it’s just so much nicer to not have to reinvent the wheel when putting together curriculum ☺️.

Since I’ve already done the research to select the book and put together the coursework and notebook (you can find the free printable of our Culinary Arts notebook at the end of this post) I hope that other moms of children who enjoy cooking can put this to good use as well.

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First, the text spine. I looked at a few books we already owned but none of them were exactly what I was looking for because the request was a full year (and full credit) for fine arts. The other considerations were Cooking for Geeks (a fabulous book I got for my grill-loving husband a few years ago), The Science of Cooking by DK, and Master the Art of French Cooking. While all three are phenomenal in their own right they were not quite what I was looking for.

So I went to Amazon to search. (I use Amazon search to find all kinds of books- it’s a great search engine and you can check reviews, which is always a plus- and it works no matter where you purchase or borrow the title from in the end!) I came across The New Cooking School Cookbook: Fundamentals from America’s Test Kitchen and it checked all the boxes I wanted in a culinary arts spine.

The New Cooking School Culinary Arts Course

I still use paper and pencil to write out most things. Including lesson plans. I sat down and figured out exactly what I wanted to focus on and then turned those lessons into a printable notebook for my son to record his work.

Grab the printable notebook at the end of this post!

Note for the parent: Our plan is to have a maximum of 2-3 recipes executed a week after the initial two week’s work that is mostly just writing. Text based lessons happen 1-2 times a week and the rest is in the kitchen/grocery store. This is an elective and the total hours we are planning for the credit are 120. Don’t forget to include the time making the grocery lists, shopping, and properly storing the ingredients into your course credit calculations!

10 Habits of a Good Cook

• Read through the 10 habits, notate anything new

Cooking Terminology

• Cooking Terminology, Cutting Terms, Mixing Terms: Record any unknown terms in the notebook (Your student may need more than 1 page printed for terms if they are not familiar with cooking)

A Kitchen Starter Kit

• Identify any items needed for the kitchen (Most kitchens will have most of these items, but it’s a great way to help your student develop observation, organization, and appreciation for the items you have)

• If you don’t have some of the essentials, there are recommendations in the book. Our favorite kitchen items include Lodge Cast Iron (not enameled), Rada cutlery and the Rada whisk, stainless steel cookware (I still use my 25 year old copper bottom Revere Ware) and measuring cups/spoons, glass storage and measuring cups, USA Pans baking sheets, NordicWare cake pans, Ninja Mega Kitchen System, and KitchenAid stand mixer. For cleaning, we like oxygen spray bottles and Lane Linen kitchen towels.

• You may want to include a page here for your student to make notes about caring for cookware. I didn’t because my boys already know how to care for ours, and how to clean it if they mess it up.

Stocking Your Pantry and Refrigerator

• The student will take an inventory and see what staples you have and what you need. Our family is a gluten free/peanut free household so that is taken into consideration. There are gluten free fish sauces, soy sauces, bread crumbs, and pasta/noodles available now that we utilize. If your family has food allergies to shop for, we always have good luck shopping online at Thrive Market to find the more unusual things (like fish sauce).

Getting to Know Cheese

• Student will read about and list the types and uses of the cheeses listed in the text.

• Student will record notes about storage, preparing, and reducing waste. (If you have never made soup or stew with cheese rind, you’re in for a treat!)

• Cheeseboard project: Student will choose 3-5 cheeses, condiments, and crackers/fruit. Design the presentation on the notebook page and create a cheese board platter for a specific date.

• *note- there is a page at the end of the notebook to record recipe reviews where you can include a picture and notes about the recipe. If you want to make the notebook into a portfolio, use this page for each recipe your student makes throughout the course.

Getting to Know Herbs and Spices

• Herbs: Student will record type, use, and flavor profile for any unfamiliar herbs listed.

• Herbs: Student will record notes on storing, preparing, and Dried vs Fresh.

• Spices: Student will record type, use, and flavor profile for any unfamiliar spices listed and any notes they want to remember.

• Spices: Student will create two of the spice blends in the book, list them, and add notes about the flavors. *optional - record on the recipe review page

• *optional- for our lessons we are also smelling the herbs (and tasting a few) to help embed them into his memory/palate.

Sauces 101

• Student will record the type, use, and flavor profile of the listed sauces.

• Student will choose 1 vegetable and 1 sauce to accompany a dinner. (A roasted or grilled green vegetable with hollandaise is a safe bet if your student is timid on trying new things) *optional - record on the recipe review page

• *note - My student is responsible for working a week ahead of me throughout the entire course so he can add his recipes into the weekly meal plan I make on Saturdays (to shop on Sundays after church) and accompany me shopping to choose his own ingredients. This adds both time to his class credit and a valuable lifeskill to the course.

How to Season Food

• List and describe the 7 seasoning flavor profiles.

• Describe the principles of how flavor works.

• List and describe the 5 strategies for making food taste better.

• Using your new seasoning knowledge, make your favorite meat and

  potatoes meal and incorporate new seasoning methods. Notate your

  seasonings and results in the notebook. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Basic Food Safety

• Summarize each of the 10 food safety steps

• *optional- I am having my student take a Food Handler class that’s approved for our state of Georgia so he has a better understanding of how restaurants are supposed to operate and why the food safety scores are posted (and why some of those precautions are good to carry into your home kitchen).

Basic Measuring Skills

• How to measure notes

• When to weigh ingredients notes

Basic Knife Skills

• Notes on knife skills

• List then demonstrate the 8 types of cuts described. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Basic Vegetable and Fruit Prep

• Notes on different fruits and vegetables

• Choose two vegetables and two fruits to prepare this week. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Eggs and Tofu

• Notes

• Perfect scrambled eggs (p.54) - read and execute

• Student will choose 3 additional recipes from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. (since it’s 4 recipes, you could spread them out over 2 weeks.) *optional - record on the recipe review page

Vegetables

• Notes

• Select and properly store your vegetables for your 3 recipes

• Student will choose 3 recipes from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Salads Part 1

• Notes

• Select and properly store the vegetables for your recipes

• Student will choose Salad Recipe 1, Salad Recipe 2, Vinaigrette, Salad Topper, and Creamy Dressing recipes from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Salads Part 2

• Notes

• Select and properly story the ingredients for your recipes.

• Student will choose one vegetable salad or slaw, one meat salad, and one restaurant favorite recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Soups

• Notes on soup basics.

• Student will choose one soup recipe for a dinner, one soup recipe to freeze, and one basic broth recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Pasta and Noodles

• Notes on pastas

• Student will read and execute the brown butter technique (p. 253) and record the results (warning- it can take a few tries to get a good brown butter that doesn’t end up black/burnt)

• Student will choose one fresh pasta recipe, one dried pasta recipe, one baked pasta recipe, and one rice noodle recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

• *notes- our favorite brands of gluten free pasta are Tikyada and Jovial, and for a grain free option we like the Thrive Market brand Shirataki Noodles.

Rice, Grains, and Beans

• Notes

• List types of grains and notate which are gluten free (you can skip the GF part if you wish, but it’s helpful if you have friends who are gluten free that you might want to cook for)

• Soak beans using the baking soda tip on p. 319, record results

• Student will choose one rice recipe, one grain recipe, one risotto recipe, and one grit/polenta recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Meat

• Meat basics notes

• Meat selection and storage notes

• Meat cooking methods notes

• Student will select and make one spice rub, one sauce, and one compound butter recipe and record them.

• Student will choose one steakhouse recipe, one braised recipe, one stew recipe, and one grill recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Poultry

• Poultry basics notes

• Student will choose and make a pan sauce (p. 418-19) to go with one of the recipes or make the one-hour broiled chicken and pan sauce recipe.

• Student will choose one cutlets recipe, one braised recipe, one chicken and rice recipe, one stir fry recipe, and one grill recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

• *note- our family has an amazing family recipe for stuffed roast turkey which our boys have grown up making. If your family has not roasted a turkey, then you might wish to add that lesson.

Seafood

• Basics notes

• Types of fish notes

• Student will select one cod recipe, one salmon recipe, one shrimp recipe, and one fish fry recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

Bread

• Bread basics notes (there’s a lot of space here because there is a lot of information!)

• Student will select one savory quick bread recipe, one morning bread recipe, one no-knead recipe, and one dinner roll recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

• *note- if you are a gluten free family, our preferred flour blend is Better Batter cup for cup bread flour blend.

• *note- if your family is a big pizza family, try adding in a pizza recipe too!

Desserts

• Desserts basics notes

• Baking basics notes

• Student will select one cookie recipe, one brownie/blondie recipe, one cake recipe, one apple pie recipe, one all butter pie dough recipe (this can be combined with a pie), one Thanksgiving dessert recipe, one creamy dessert recipe, and one frosting recipe from this section, make the grocery list, shop for the items, and make the recipes. *optional - record on the recipe review page

• *note- This section has a lot of dessert recipes because we have found that most often when we are cooking for others for gatherings or church that desserts are always a favorite. Tips for handling the large quantity of sweets here: choose a cookie recipe that can be frozen in batches for quick tea time treats, volunteer to bring a treat to a church function for one or a few items, share some of the treats with neighbors and friends.

Final project

• The student will plan, prepare, and execute a full dinner party.

• The notebook has pages to organize the theme, location, guest list (including dietary requirements), menu, grocery list, and cooking schedule.

• Photos should be taken to include in your end of year records.

Whew. That’s a full year’s worth!

Friend, I do hope you enjoy a year of culinary delights and learning alongside your student. Cooking for others is one of the best gifts there is and this course will help your child to be on their way to being an amazing and hospitable host.

Thanks so much for letting us be part of your homeschool!

Get the free printable notebook here.

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