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Jan 22, 2009

Culinary Educational Trends

Culinary is an area where personnel involved known as chef. The trade and skill based profession are highly demand in European Countries as well as in Australia and Japan as many other hospitality graduate. In many countries, you need at least a Diploma in stipulated area of hospitality before being granted a job permit especially in Europe, whereas ASEAN have started the discussion on implementing the same.

From in trade and skills, where most personnel are trained through on-the-job training, culinary nowadays require certain level of academic training. The market also has becoming a niche in terms of job specification from just Executive Chef and Sous Chef which refined to hotel to Corporate Chef, Personal Chef, Celebrity Chef as well as Consultant chef as in wider perspective

As the culinary grow into an academic discipline, as it gain popularity as chosen career, many university nowadays started offering Bsc. in Culinary as other program in Diploma, Certificates and short courses. There are other discpline and area which known among other as Culinary Science, Gastronomy, Molecule Gastronomy and Culinology.

Culinary Science in an area where the chef have wider knowledge on Food Science and chemistry, where as molecular science is involved in creative way on ingredients and cooking methodology. Culinology is a term trademark by Research Chef Association (RCA). It is an area where chefs involved in many aspect of food and management research, as well as research in food science and technology .

it is great indeed to see this expansion, though there are serious issue on developing a trully passionate chef educators as to support the overwhelming popularity of culinary program.

In Malaysia perspective, there are many private institutions offering Diploma in Culinary Arts, whereas the Degree is Offered by UiTM, UPM and soon by USIM. As for graduate program there are in the way, with UiTM leading the way with Masters in Gastronomy. In international level there are many Associate Degree in Culinary Arts and BSc Culinary arts offered namely United States and certain European Countries. There are very few good Master program for culinary namely Cordon-Blu of France and MBA-Culinology of SMSU - which offering a true meaning of culinary.

As it maturely grow, it is now an appropriate time for those who invloved in this area to have around table on developing graduate program / higher degree on culinary which include Master and PhD.

In short this culinary area offer many opportunity for those who wanted to venture something that unique, travelling while earning and vast career as it offer in many industry, namely Hotel, Catering, R&D , Academics, writer, food critics, photographer or even owning a restaurant.