Famous culinary schools seem to the “uninitiated” to be real closed clubs for professionals. However, in reality, the lion's share of students are by no means chefs “with Michelin in their heads” * who want to improve their qualifications to absolute perfection, but people who are very far from the world of haute gastronomy, who have not even graduated from the notorious culinary college. True, sincerely obsessed with the kitchen.

Starting level: do you need to know how to cook?

Professional skills are not required to enroll in school, emphasizes Marina Zyazina, holder of a Le Cordon Bleu diploma from the prestigious London Tante Marie Academy, who is currently engaged in the production of cakes. Together with her, not only those who already worked in restaurants learned the basics of great cooking, but also financial analysts from the City, an actress who was passionate about yachts, medical equipment salesmen, a teacher and part-time mother of many children.
“Each of us had a completely developed life, with our own accomplishments and successes,” says Zyazina. “But at some point something clicked, we stopped, stopped everything and went to learn how to cook.”

The decision to change the familiar Google office to the unfamiliar space of England's oldest culinary school had been brewing for more than a year. And the main incentive for dramatic changes in life was the long-standing dream of owning a restaurant for six tables with a menu in tune with the season and mood.

Where to go, where to go: how to choose a culinary school?

It is important to understand: training at a culinary school and courses has its own specifics. The latter are more affordable, both in price and in the format of material presentation. This is a short-term phenomenon (from several hours to a month) and, as a rule, dedicated to a certain narrow topic: preparing a specific dish or the basics of a particular technology. Therefore, when choosing a place to comprehend the intricacies of gastronomic science, you should start from your goals. “If it’s just “for yourself,” it’s better to choose culinary courses,” advises Marina Zyazina. “The stress load that comes with studying at a culinary school, where a solid theoretical foundation is laid and a lot of practice is provided, must be justified.”

General Director of the PR agency PR Partners Inna Alekseeva felt from her own experience the difference between a serious “culinary” education and its light version. She ended up in tourist-oriented Barcelona Cooking solely to combine business (a vacation in Spain) with business (paella and creme catalana cooking master classes). But at the Moscow Cooking School Ragout, Irina already studied with real professionals, some of whom later successfully went to work in top restaurants in Moscow or opened their own establishment.

Lost in translation: is knowledge of a foreign language necessary?

Cooking courses tailored for tourists often require the presence of an interpreter. But respected schools and academies probably respect themselves so much that they are not ready to change their long-standing teaching traditions, including their native language. However, knowledge at the native level is not required - although cooking involves the use of specific vocabulary, many of the terms are quite “recognizable” due to their internationality.
Obviously, it will not be difficult for anyone who is at least a little familiar with gastronomy to “recognize” the conventional flambes, bechamel and la ganache in their consonant English counterparts.

Scheduled Lunch: What can you learn besides cooking?

Cooking schools are not just about food. In addition to mastering various techniques, learning new recipes and professional secrets, students learn to decorate dishes in the best traditions of top restaurants, and develop their gastrointuition regarding the combination of ingredients. But, perhaps, the main skill acquired there is the ability to competently plan one’s time, which is simply priceless for a person intending to “dedicate himself” to the kitchen professionally. After all, in a restaurant it is important not only to prepare food correctly, but also to serve it on time.

Settled scores are also about cooking. “One of the exams that shocks absolutely all students is the budget lunch,” says Marina Zyazina. - This is when you have to create a lunch menu of three courses - an appetizer, a main course with a vegetable side dish, a dessert - for four people. At the same time, show as many techniques as possible: working with dough, vegetables, gelatin, cutting poultry/fish, etc.” Purchasing groceries and preparing the entire lunch is required according to a time plan, within a strictly allotted time. At the same time, you need to keep within a symbolic amount; three years ago the budget was only £8.5 (about 400 rubles). “However, it turned out that this is not only possible, but also how possible!” - Marina laughs.

Strength test: what difficulties should you prepare for?

First of all, you need to realize that your signature dishes are far from being the standard. Even if you have attended master classes on making crème brûlée or béchamel more than once and it seemed to you that you are good at this, don’t expect the eminent chefs from Le Cordon Bleu to agree with you. And you shouldn’t argue with them, because your goal is to learn, not to assert yourself.

Also, get ready for colossal physical and psychological stress - you will have to work from dawn to dusk, a full working week. Whoever you are in ordinary life, here you are just a student, one of. Therefore, no matter how much you want to demonstrate your wounded ego, it is important to remember that the one who survives in the kitchen is the one who knows how to work in a team and unquestioningly follow instructions, without being distracted by unnecessary grievances and thoughts. “At the same time, it is very important not to lose the creative approach and pleasure from the process,” summarizes Marina Zyazina.

There would be a desire: why might it not work out?

There is only one reason - the person does not want it. “To succeed in any business you need knowledge, skills, and also inspiration, so if you are not in the mood or if you have only doubts about the result instead of a good mood, no chef will teach you how to cook deliciously,” Inna Alekseeva is sure. - In addition, it is important to understand that the training program is not compiled according to the wishes of the group, but according to the decision of the boss. Therefore, you should not expect that you will learn how to cook all the dishes on your wish list.”

And one more significant detail - the taste of the dish depends 50-70% on the quality of the products. This means that no matter how hard you try to apply the acquired skills in preparing paella with seafood, you will hardly be able to repeat THAT SAME TASTE. Morning catch happens in Barcelona, ​​but not in Moscow. And this is not your fault at all.

Culinary traditions are among the most important in the history of any nation. National cuisine is often a symbol of a particular country. Unique recipes are passed down from generation to generation; the ability to cook deliciously always distinguishes true owners - regardless of gender. In short, cooking is an activity that has both purely practical skills (processing food, preparing food) and an aesthetic component. It’s not for nothing that the culinary craft is often compared to art.

Young townspeople can learn it in various leisure and cultural institutions: studios, creative houses, development centers. Boys and girls will get acquainted with culinary traditions, colored in national flavor, and learn how to cook food in practice. Of course, these are not specialized training programs, as, for example, in schools and colleges - the guys do not master a profession, but acquire only the most important skills, but certainly in a good mood!

Therefore, we can safely say that these classes allow children to gain both theoretical and practical skills, develop creative imagination and activity, and find new friends who are passionate about similar activities. Cooking will be interesting not only for girls, but also for boys. And the leaders - true masters of their craft - will be able to interest everyone.

How to make your own milk chocolate

Perhaps chocolate occupies one of the first places among young chefs - they not only love to eat it, but also to create it. For many children, the process of preparing delicacies is akin to a miracle. It’s not difficult to make: you will need butter (50 g), milk (30 ml), 100 grams of cocoa powder, 10-15 g. granulated sugar. First, the milk is heated to a temperature of 60-70 degrees, then sugar is added to it. All this is stirred. After this, the butter is melted - on the stove or in a water bath. The next step is adding milk and sugar to the butter. All this is poured with cocoa, and the mixture must be stirred constantly to avoid the formation of lumps. The resulting “cocktail” is cooked over low heat for several minutes (no more than three). All that remains is to remove the product from the heat and put it in the refrigerator, allowing it to cool before doing so.

First steps in the kitchen, or How to introduce cooking from an early age?

Before your child can prepare his first breakfast on his own, you need to arouse his interest in the cooking process itself. From early childhood, the kitchen is a place of attraction for a child, and it is important to support his curiosity. Seeing how mother peels, cuts, fries, the child tries to imitate. There is no need to refuse his feasible contribution, fearing that he will break something or get hurt. Give him the easiest job, for example, stirring the dough with a spoon or coating the finished cake with a whisk. To avoid injury, any actions of the baby must be supervised. To do this, please be patient and courageous. Until three years of age, his assistance will be minimal. Only later will he be able to perform more complex actions and understand that cooking is also a part of creativity and art.

Details

Prices for chef courses in Moscow allow almost anyone to acquire a profession. The cost is affordable, training options are varied, and the duration of classes is reasonable.

Where to take chef courses in Moscow, what are the minimum prices for training and what training options are training centers ready to offer their students? Let's find out.

The obvious thing is that to become a professional chef, you need to study. Long, a lot and often. It is advisable to first graduate from a secondary vocational education institution, then, over time, study at a university. Constantly improve your skills through courses and trainings, improve in any way, never stop. But first you need to find a job, the rest will follow with time. Chef courses will help those who love to cook delicious food. For example, having completed a chef course in Moscow with employment, in 99 percent of cases you will be able to find a job without leaving the walls of the training center. Although the work will not be highly profitable, the prices for chef courses in Moscow are also not bad. This means that the cost of the classes will pay for itself very quickly, and based on your employment results, you will be able to gain useful experience and, over time, change your low-income job in a canteen to something more interesting.

Options for chef courses in Moscow

There is a wide selection of chef courses in Moscow. These courses usually have a variety of programs for students of all skill levels, from housewives to chefs. The programs are developed based on labor market studies.

The programs are divided into three groups: training of cooks of various categories, training of specialists in the proper organization of work of public catering establishments (production manager, technologist, calculator, etc.), training of customer service specialists. Of course, all these courses have different prices.

The longest course is training for a 4th category cook, this is not surprising, because this can be said to be a basic course, where a lot of theory is given. However, this course contains less practical training than the training course for top-level chefs. Training for 6th grade chefs is already considered as advanced training and such chef courses are usually the most expensive in price, and the training groups are the smallest. And a lot of attention is paid to practical work.

Chef courses in Moscow: prices

What prices for chef courses in Moscow are the capital's training centers willing to offer? For example, at the Higher School of Cooking Arts, a 4th grade cook course costs 11,000 rubles, a 6th grade cook or chef course costs 25,000 rubles, and cooking courses for housewives cost 18,000 rubles.

One of the most famous educational institutions in Moscow, the Training Center of the Labor Market Academy, trains 4th category chefs, the cost of the course is 11,000 rubles for 96 academic hours. Also, very famous chef courses in Moscow at the MBA CITY BUSINESS ACADEMY. The Academy offers the professional course “COOK-CULINARY” (General Cook, 4th category) for 15,000 rubles, the course “CONDICER-EXPERT” (Confectioner, 6th category) for 29,500 rubles.

Chef course programs in Moscow centers

This is what the approximate program of the main, so to speak, basic course for chefs in Moscow looks like.

1. Operation of catering enterprises. Types of enterprises, types of production facilities, basic personal hygiene and safety precautions. Sanitary standards for the storage of food and finished culinary products.
2. Primary processing of culinary raw materials - vegetables, mushrooms, herbs - washing, cleaning, slicing. Cooking food. Dishes from boiled potatoes, vegetables, preparation of salads, vinaigrettes.
3. This is followed by a practical lesson - training in working with the tools and equipment of a vegetable shop. Practical processing and cutting of vegetables and root crops.
4. Processing and cooking fish. Defrosting, cleaning, cutting. Processing of semi-finished fish products. Practical lesson - cutting semi-finished fish products and preparing them for heat treatment.
5. Cooking meat - beef, pork and lamb. Defrosting, primary processing, deboning, cutting into large pieces, portions and small pieces. Minced cutlet and semi-finished products from it. Practical lesson - preparing semi-finished meat products.
6. Cooking poultry and game dishes. Processing, preparation of semi-finished products, methods of filling. Semi-finished poultry products. Practical lesson.
7. Preparation of broths - fish, mushroom, meat, meat and bone, bone, poultry. A practical lesson will further accompany all lessons.
8. Various types of passaging. Sauces, serving methods.
9. Preparation of first courses - soups, borscht, cabbage soup, pickles, mushroom soups, fish soup, cereal soups, legumes, pasta. Serving first courses.
10. Preparation and serving of dishes and side dishes from cereals, pasta, legumes. Porridges and side dishes.
11. Preparing casseroles from various products - vegetables, pasta, cereals. During the practical lesson, not only the preparation itself is practiced, but also the presentation and presentation.
12. Preparation of cold dishes, appetizers from vegetables, fish, mushrooms, seafood. Assorted and aspic dishes. Fish salads. Cooking temperature and serving methods.
13. Baked goods and dough products. Types of test. Preparation of unleavened, puff pastry and butter dough. Pies, dumplings, dumplings.

As you can see, the program is solid and includes all the necessary basic knowledge to work as a cook. And that means he puts a profession in his hands. Chef courses in Moscow cope with this task quite well, just choose.

The twenty-first century brought a culture of fast food and convenience foods, but nothing can replace home cooking. Whether you are learning from scratch or improving in the culinary arts, the Internet and mobile applications can always help you. However, finding among the variety of options can be difficult and time-consuming.

Do you dream of preparing a delicious dish yourself?We have compiled a list of the most interesting, educational and inspiring resources to helpyou become an excellent cook, a jack of all trades.

Online courses and websites where you can learn to cook

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