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Scope Of Baking And Pastry

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Pastry schools
Pastry schools provide students with training and expertise to become good bakers/pastry chefs. They offer various degrees and programs through which students learn the art of baking. Pastry schools offer the following degrees:

Bachelors of baking and pastry arts
Students enrolled in this program learn how to make bakery items and pastries. They will be given knowledge and in depth training, preparing them to become professional bakers or pastry chefs. Students also learn the scientific and biological components involved in baking, providing insight into chemical compositions and human health.

Students practice the techniques and processes of baking and pastry making in kitchen labs. This includes all categories of pastry such as deserts, patisserie, confections and specialty breads. The course also teaches students interpersonal skills, ethics, psychology and management skills that are required in the professional field of cooking.
The courses studied in the bachelors degree are:
Baking and patisserie
Culinary science
Business maths
Culinary skills and equipment operation
Food service and kitchen management
International cuisine
Nutrition Masters in baking and pastry art
In this program, students learn the baking techniques and methods for creating all kinds of confectionaries. Apart from spending hours in the kitchen classroom, students will also be taught managerial skills that will be essential for working in professional restaurants and kitchens. This is a two year program where some of the main courses studied are:
Baking and pastry art skill
Theories in baking
Culinary Science
Culinary deserts
Food safety
Baking and pastry arts theory
Business entrepreneurship

Kitchen management
Certificates and diplomas

Pastry Schools also offer certificates and diplomas. These short courses are designed to prepare individuals for the professional world of culinary arts. It includes teaching students different techniques for pastry making, pastry handling, decorating, packaging and marketing. Main courses studied include:

Bread and pastries
Yeast and dough fundamentals
Plated dessert fundamentals
Cooking with chocolate
Bakery production Top pastry schools
The best Pastry Schools where individuals can attain degrees in bakery and pastry are:
Institute of culinary education(NYC)
Texas culinary academy
California culinary academy(san Francisco)
The school of culinary arts-Kendall college
Career prospects for pastry chefs:
Pastry chefs can face a wide number of opportunities in the professional world of pastry art. Following are some options:
Work for a bakery
Patisserie
Restaurant
Become a food critic or writer
Teacher
Open up your own business The pay scale of pastry chefs ranges from $24,000 to $64,000 per annum.

New Summer Holiday Programmes Launched By St Lucia Hotels

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In order to entice more summer holidaymakers to stay in St Lucia this season, hotels and restaurants as well as some of the most exciting tours and attractions have stepped their game to offer tourists with special deals aimed at a local audience. Trying to tap into the local market with special Staycation offers, the ultimate goal for many St Lucia holidays is to raise awareness of their services among local residents and in many cases build a long-lasting relationship with their home guests.

This annual summer promotion has been launched in previous years and continues to grow in popularity. For this reason, many hotels in St Lucia have revved up their offers to their loyal local clientele to now include special spa treatments at some of the islands most indulgent spa facilities.

The Staycation summer holiday deals in St Lucia will officially kick off on 1st July and will run until 30th September 2012.

At the moment the St Lucia Tourist Board is working with the many St Lucia hotels, tour operators, spas, restaurants and other organisations specialised in adding to the St Lucia holiday experience, in order to create the different tailor-made holiday packages that will offer exclusive summer deals to residents. Some of these specials will include hotel stays starting from just $30 US dollars per night per room and exclusive discounts on popular attractions and tours. In addition there are also some all inclusive holiday deals as part of the promotion.

The launch of Staycation coincides with the launch of another summer promotion called Summerlicious; yet another summer programme created by the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA), designed to expose both locals and visitors alike to the diversity of St Lucian cuisine as influenced by Afro, European, French and Caribbean heritage.

As part of the Summerlicious programme those enjoying holidays in St Lucia during the summer season will get to enjoy authentic St Lucian culinary delights with reduced prix fixed prices on lunch and dinner summer menus at some of the finest restaurants island-wide. Visitors can sample a two course lunch for EC$50-$65 and a three course dinner from EC$95, $125 and $145. In addition, all meals include a high-quality signature cocktail made with St Lucias award winning Chairmans Reserve Rum. Ahead of the imposition of the Value Added Tax in October of this year, Summerlicious has been hailed as the, Pre VAT Dine Out.

Tourism Director Louis Lewis said Staycation/Summerlicious offers that unique opportunity for nationals; and in the case of Summerlicious visitors alike, the chance to experience the islands varied tourism product.

It is noteworthy to see the excitement amongst the hotels, restaurants, sites, attractions and spas to these two programs as we work together to execute these exciting summer promotions. The fact that more and more of our tourism partners are eager to participate in the promotions is testament to their success and the value they place on the on-island clientele. – Lewis said.

Participating hotels and restaurants in St Lucia for the Staycation/Summerlicious 2012 include both small and large properties and are located throughout the island from Cap Estate in the north to Vieux Fort in the south.

Culinary Arts Training Expectations And Requirements

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As an aspirant culinary arts practitioner, what can one expect from a culinary arts training school? There are millions of culinary arts training institutions but that does not necessary ensure quality. Hence, the quality of the culinary arts training schools is of premium importance, when it comes to training aspiring chefs and cooks.

What are the parameters by which a culinary training school can be evaluated? One, quality of the faculty or teachers; two, the infrastructure and logistics; three, the course content of the training program. These are critical factors though there could be other factors as well that decides how good is a culinary arts training institute.

Let us discuss each parameter in details. First, the faculty or the teachers must be able to impart the basics of culinary art to the students. The competence of a teacher can be gauged from how well the student is coping with the varied customer tastes and preferences and is yet able to make them happy.

In other words, good and hygienic dishes over a long period of time will testify to the fact that important lessons have been passed to the student. The student must also be able have an instant feel of the psychology of a group of people in terms of food preferences.

Two, a culinary arts training must have world class infrastructure that facilitates learning. Latest trends and concepts in cooking must be facilitated through this infrastructure. In other words, a culinary arts training school must aim to be a finishing school that churns out finished products.

The minimum an alumnus requires training after joining a job, the better has been the role of the culinary arts training institute. Excellent and competent training, aided by superior infrastructure is an important factor for producing good cooks.

Lastly, take a look at the course content of a culinary arts training school and ask the following questions: Does it encourage the students to have a blend of theoretical and practical learning? Have the students been sent to a hotel or a restaurant to pick the art of the trade practically and for a long duration?

Does the course content place adequate emphasis on hygienic cooking? Does the course content accommodate cooking methods that cater to the tastes of people from across geographies? Good course content, in other words, must address these issues and herein lies how good a student will be.

How to Choose the Best Microwave Oven

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A modern kitchen is not complete without an old tried and trusted microwave oven. Most people know how to use a microwave and the benefits that it provides for your cooking exploits, but they are pretty much clueless when it comes to choosing the ideal oven for their cooking ventures. There are a few fundamental aspects that are worthy of taking note before you purchase your microwave oven.

For a lot of people, the most highlighted aspect of a microwave oven would be its volume and size. An oven of appropriate capacity and volume is necessary depending on your cooking needs. Choosing an oversized microwave to cook your daily chicken fillets would be foolhardy to say the least. Flipping the cards around, you wouldnt want to have a small oven to execute your culinary skills with. Integrating ovens of an appropriate size tailored for your requirements would help a lot in enhancing your cooking exploits. Microwave ovens come in an assortment of sizes; ranging from a tiny one cubic feet to a gigantic 2.5 cubic feet or more.

The next important criteria of selecting a microwave oven would be the strength of the punch that it packs. The strength of such microwaves is usually measured by the wattage that it delivers. Large scale microwave ovens can go upwards of 1500 watts. Choosing a microwave with a wattage exceeding your personal requirements would usually result in overcooked food specimens. Consult your local supplier or expert regarding the tailored wattage for your own needs before committing to a microwave purchase.

Congratulations! By now you would already have an idea of the desired size and the wattage of your desired microwave, but that is just half of the whole puzzle. The next point to consider when choosing such an oven would be the perks and functions hidden within the shell of it. Modern microwaves are filled with a plethora of different specific perks, tweaks and special add-ons. First of all, we take a look at the basic appeals of your chosen oven. A functioning microwave MUST have a decent turntable to back up its claim. The turntable is the primary tool for you to cook with your microwave and it must be both rigid and big enough to do a good job. Should your turntable be lacking in the aforementioned aspects, then you can expect you pot roast to be cooked on one side and be cold on the other. Lighting in the microwave is also essential to give you a good perspective of your food specimen. You have to see how your food cooks in an oven more than anything. There are a bevy of other elementary functions to consider, therefore proper consultation is advised before you purchase your microwave oven.

By now we have covered the basic functions and hardware of a microwave. The next key point would be an ovens appeal and how it stands out amongst the rest. Latest microwaves come with abundance of special add-ons; such as programmable menu screens, automated cooking options and even popcorn keys. These attributes are only useful once the basic appeal of a microwave is met. Once you are happy with the basic attributes of a unit, these are the extra perks which you would consider to help assert your choice from the others. A simple programmable sidebar can make a normal microwave oven stand out of the chasing pack.

There you have it. These are the basic aspects you would need to consider before committing to a microwave purchase. The budget for a microwave should be allocated based on your cooking needs as well as desired requirements of microwave. Budget microwaves are cheap, but they are only there to help you cook and rehear your food. If you wish to have a trustworthy kitchen counterpart there, then taking the extra mile to purchase a premium unit would go a long way to enhance your overall satisfaction.

Team Building Ideas

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Sometimes a company needs to collectively take a break and give its hard-working employees the chance to unwind. Once people get to know each other on a personal level, rather than through the veneer of professionalism and office politics, it can often become easier to work with one another on a day to day basis. And a shared experience can do wonders in terms of bringing people together.

But what sort of day will everyone appreciate? In most companies, theres such a variety of individuals that it can be hard to cater to everyones tastes. It may be the case that some of the typical team building activities you would assume everyone would enjoy may be unsuitable, or perhaps make some members of staff feel uncomfortable. Nothing is worse than putting the effort into a special day for everyone to enjoy, only to find that no one seems to be having a particularly good time.

Thats why it is important to assess all the options available to the company. Decide on a rough budget and shop around to see whats available. Failing to do this could lead to an embarrassing moment at a later stage, when you realise youve missed out on a truly memorable team-building opportunity.

When it comes to deciding which activity to do there are certain “go to” activities that seem to work well in most office situations. One modern classic is paint balling. A company can organise themselves into teams (or death squads), pick up their weapons and get either as tactical or as Rambo as they like. Cue rudimentary military sign language and terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions. Usually there will be a variety of scenarios to play through, such as sieges, capture the flag and sometimes even historic reenactments.

But sometimes the idea of paint balling wont appeal to certain members of a team. For a more refined day out, a team cookery session can be a great activity, and usually an activity that is universally liked by the group. Corporate days are available for almost all styles of cookery, from traditional English to Thai. This is great way to get teams to gel, whilst simultaneously broadening their culinary horizons.

There are also a variety of rather more unorthodox corporate days that have emerged in recent times. Smoothie making, sumo suit wrestling and even spy days are becoming increasingly popular. Whether you decide to go with a tried and tested day, or something more unusual, team building is an essential part of modern office life.

Allowing for a properly bonded team to form doesnt make sense only from a HR perspective, but also from a financial one. Studies have shown that people working in offices built on good relationships are actually more productive, with a lower staff turnover.

Team building days are not the only way to build office relationships, but they should form a part of a businesss overall strategy to keep staff happy.