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Pastry Arts Courses

PASTRY ARTS BASIC PROGRAM
In the Basic Program, the Pastry Arts student learns the basic skills necessary to cook proficiently. The program includes two quarters of hands-on and theoretical Pastry instruction along with student internship. Students who have completed the Pastry Arts Basic Program at ICASI have excellent preparation for entry-level foodservice jobs. Students in the traditional scheduling option will complete the Pastry Arts Basic Program and receive their Certificate in 6 months.
Course No. | Course Title Description Meeting Schedule
PA1100 | Basic Techniques 1

PA1100 is an introductory course designed to develop a professional vocabulary of terms related to baking ingredients, preparation, and kitchen equipment and introduces students to a variety of basic techniques in the preparation of baked goods. Students registered for PA1100 will have the opportunity to:

• Acquire important bakeshop vocabulary about ingredients, bread and pastry products, kitchen equipment, and classical and contemporary food preparation techniques.
• Learn to identify a wide range of ingredients, their quality and their uses.
• Utilize professional bakeshop organizational and planning techniques including recipe conversion, menu implementation and product presentation.
• Practice a variety of elementary baking techniques including the preparation of breads, cookies, pies, quick breads, custards and puddings, and ice cream.
• Practice a variety of intermediate baking techniques, including the preparation of pate a choux, puff pastry, croissants and Danish, and introduction to chocolates.

TWICE A WEEK
PA1200 | Basic Techniques 2

PA1200 is an introductory course designed to develop a basic knowledge and skill set for the preparation and decoration of cakes, European tortes, cupcakes, frozen desserts, and baking alternatives for dietary restrictions. Students registered for PA1200 will have the opportunity to:

• Acquire important bakeshop vocabulary about ingredients, pastry products, kitchen equipment, and classical and contemporary food preparation techniques.
• Learn the procedures for the basic cake methods, such as creaming, two-stage, sponge angel food and chiffon.
• Practice a variety of elementary decorating techniques, including simple icing, using a paper cone and using a pastry bag to make simple icing decorations.
• Practice a variety of intermediate cake making methods techniques, including the specialty cakes, such as tortes, mousse cakes, rolls and tiered cakes.
• Learn the procedure for making frozen desserts.
• Learn a variety of decorative techniques for professional level cupcakes.
• Learn ingredient alternatives and recipe adaptations for diet-restricted consumers including gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and sugar-controlled desserts.

TWICE A WEEK
PA2300 | Savory Techniques for Pastry Arts Students

PA2300 will introduce pastry students to basic techniques of savory cooking. Through hands-on cooking, students will have the opportunity to broaden their experience of professional foodservice methods and skills. The unit focuses on teaching students to merge skills learned in their pastry classes with new savory skills in the design and production of simple catered events. The unit also focuses on providing pastry students with an auxiliary set of skills that enhance their desirability with potential employers. Students registered for PA2300 will have the opportunity to:

• Learn to employee professional knife skills in the preparation of many ingredients.
• Gain basic knowledge of vocabulary related to savory cooking techniques.
• Learn and practice the principles of manufacturing stocks, soups, and sauces.
• Manufacture fresh pasta and prepare a wide range of pasta dishes.
• Learn and practice techniques for producing several types of pizzas, salads and dressings, and hot and cold sandwiches.
• Manufacture and cook a variety popular of hot and cold appetizers.

ONCE A WEEK
LS1100 | Sanitation

LS1100 will give students a complete overview of sanitation principles in the foodservice environment. Students will investigate the variety of foodborn illness causing pathogens, inorganic contaminants, and the illness symptoms they produce. Safe sanitation practices in the flow of food will be learned, culminating in study of the HACCP system and government regulation of foodservice establishments. Students will sit for the NRAEF ServSafe Food Safety Manager Certification Examination. Students who successfully complete LS1100 will:

• Learn important vocabulary and concepts related to general sanitation principles.
• Understand the government’s role in providing sanitation research, legislation, and oversight.
• Learn to implement sanitation “best practices” in various foodservice environments.
• Investigate foodservice ramifications of sanitation concepts including symptoms of various foodborn illnesses, the importance of adequate staff training and compliance with sanitation standards, and development of a HACCP plan.
• Obtain a valid NRAEF ServSafe Food Safety Manager Certificate upon passage of the NRAEF examination.

ONCE PER WEEK FOR 4 WEEKS
LS2100 | Nutrition and Healthy Cooking

LS2100 will give students an overview of the function of food components and their sources, general nutritional concepts, and the American Diet. Students will investigate the dietary needs of consumers in foodservice institutions and some alternative diets and eating patterns. In hands-on sessions, this class will be a laboratory for experimenting with ways to alter popular recipes to fit particular eating habits and nutritionally informed menus. Students who successfully complete LS2100 will:

• Learn important vocabulary and concepts related to general nutrition principles.
• Understand the history of the government’s role in providing nutritional advice to its citizens.
• Learn the recommendations contained in Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.
• Investigate foodservice ramifications of nutritional concepts including developing and marketing healthy menus, serving nutritionally conscious foods in a commercial environment, and making nutritional menu claims in accordance with the law.
• Understand the impact of nutrition on lifestyle with particular emphasis on cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, weight and exercise, celiac disease, and nutrition over the course of a lifetime.
• Practice nutritional recipe analysis and modification of standard recipes to nutritionally conscious recipes.

ONCE PER WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS
PASTRY ARTS ADVANCED PROGRAM
In the Pastry Arts Advanced Program, students develop the ability to modify and adapt techniques learned in the Basic Program and put them to use under professionally appropriate conditions. Specific products and cooking styles are examined in detail, and the student learns to demonstrate both mastery of particular skills and creative adaptation of techniques learned. Lecture classes cover a wide range of topics important to successful foodservice operations. Students who have completed the Pastry Arts Advanced Program at ICASI have excellent preparation to seek a career in kitchen supervision or management. Students in the traditional scheduling option will complete the Pastry Arts Advanced Program and receive their Diploma in 2 years.
Course No. | Course Title Description Meeting Schedule
PA1100 | Basic Techniques 1

PA1100 is an introductory course designed to develop a professional vocabulary of terms related to baking ingredients, preparation, and kitchen equipment and introduces students to a variety of basic techniques in the preparation of baked goods. Students registered for PA1100 will have the opportunity to:

• Acquire important bakeshop vocabulary about ingredients, bread and pastry products, kitchen equipment, and classical and contemporary food preparation techniques.
• Learn to identify a wide range of ingredients, their quality and their uses.
• Utilize professional bakeshop organizational and planning techniques including recipe conversion, menu implementation and product presentation.
• Practice a variety of elementary baking techniques including the preparation of breads, cookies, pies, quick breads, custards and puddings, and ice cream.
• Practice a variety of intermediate baking techniques, including the preparation of pate a choux, puff pastry, croissants and Danish, and introduction to chocolates.

TWICE A WEEK
PA1200 | Basic Techniques 2

PA1200 is an introductory course designed to develop a basic knowledge and skill set for the preparation and decoration of cakes, European tortes, cupcakes, frozen desserts, and baking alternatives for dietary restrictions. Students registered for PA1200 will have the opportunity to:

• Acquire important bakeshop vocabulary about ingredients, pastry products, kitchen equipment, and classical and contemporary food preparation techniques.
• Learn the procedures for the basic cake methods, such as creaming, two-stage, sponge angel food and chiffon.
• Practice a variety of elementary decorating techniques, including simple icing, using a paper cone and using a pastry bag to make simple icing decorations.
• Practice a variety of intermediate cake making methods techniques, including the specialty cakes, such as tortes, mousse cakes, rolls and tiered cakes.
• Learn the procedure for making frozen desserts.
• Learn a variety of decorative techniques for professional level cupcakes.
• Learn ingredient alternatives and recipe adaptations for diet-restricted consumers including gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and sugar-controlled desserts.

TWICE A WEEK
PA2100 | Advanced Techniques 1

PA2100 is an advanced course designed to build on the basic techniques and explore baking and pastry specialties. Students registered for PA2100 will have the opportunity to:

• Increase their repertoire of specialized petit fours.
• Learn advanced techniques of bread baking, including artisan, multi-grain, and enriched loaves.
• Learn techniques for basic sugar, pulled and blown sugar, and sugar sculpture.
• Develop proficiency in specialized techniques for chocolate.
• Learn to construct multi-tiered cakes and develop proficiency in the use of fondant and royal icing.

TWICE A WEEK
PA2200 | Advanced Techniques 2

PA2200 is an advanced course designed to build on the basic techniques and explore baking and pastry specialties. Students registered for PA2200 will have the opportunity to:

• Learn and practice advanced decorating techniques including working knowledge of sculpted cakes.
• Prepare marzipan, royal icing, gumpaste, and pastillage and use them to prepare intricate stand-alone pieces and cake decorations.
• Develop advanced proficiency in cake decorating while learning to produce tiered wedding cakes.

TWICE A WEEK
PA2300 | Savory Techniques for Pastry Arts Students

PA2300 will introduce pastry students to basic techniques of savory cooking. Through hands-on cooking, students will have the opportunity to broaden their experience of professional foodservice methods and skills. The unit focuses on teaching students to merge skills learned in their pastry classes with new savory skills in the design and production of simple catered events. The unit also focuses on providing pastry students with an auxiliary set of skills that enhance their desirability with potential employers. Students registered for PA2300 will have the opportunity to:

• Learn to employee professional knife skills in the preparation of many ingredients.
• Gain basic knowledge of vocabulary related to savory cooking techniques.
• Learn and practice the principles of manufacturing stocks, soups, and sauces.
• Manufacture fresh pasta and prepare a wide range of pasta dishes.
• Learn and practice techniques for producing several types of pizzas, salads and dressings, and hot and cold sandwiches.
• Manufacture and cook a variety popular of hot and cold appetizers.

ONCE A WEEK
LS1100 | Sanitation

LS1100 will give students a complete overview of sanitation principles in the foodservice environment. Students will investigate the variety of foodborn illness causing pathogens, inorganic contaminants, and the illness symptoms they produce. Safe sanitation practices in the flow of food will be learned, culminating in study of the HACCP system and government regulation of foodservice establishments. Students will sit for the NRAEF ServSafe Food Safety Manager Certification Examination. Students who successfully complete LS1100 will:

• Learn important vocabulary and concepts related to general sanitation principles.
• Understand the government’s role in providing sanitation research, legislation, and oversight.
• Learn to implement sanitation “best practices” in various foodservice environments.
• Investigate foodservice ramifications of sanitation concepts including symptoms of various foodborn illnesses, the importance of adequate staff training and compliance with sanitation standards, and development of a HACCP plan.
• Obtain a valid NRAEF ServSafe Food Safety Manager Certificate upon passage of the NRAEF examination.

ONCE PER WEEK FOR 4 WEEKS
LS2100 | Nutrition and Healthy Cooking

LS2100 will give students an overview of the function of food components and their sources, general nutritional concepts, and the American Diet. Students will investigate the dietary needs of consumers in foodservice institutions and some alternative diets and eating patterns. In hands-on sessions, this class will be a laboratory for experimenting with ways to alter popular recipes to fit particular eating habits and nutritionally informed menus. Students who successfully complete LS2100 will:

• Learn important vocabulary and concepts related to general nutrition principles.
• Understand the history of the government’s role in providing nutritional advice to its citizens.
• Learn the recommendations contained in Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.
• Investigate foodservice ramifications of nutritional concepts including developing and marketing healthy menus, serving nutritionally conscious foods in a commercial environment, and making nutritional menu claims in accordance with the law.
• Understand the impact of nutrition on lifestyle with particular emphasis on cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, weight and exercise, celiac disease, and nutrition over the course of a lifetime.
• Practice nutritional recipe analysis and modification of standard recipes to nutritionally conscious recipes.

ONCE PER WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS
LS2200 | Foodservice Management 1

LS2200 is designed to introduce students to operational skills and techniques necessary to successfully engage in various foodservice management tasks and responsibilities including: planning kitchen production and analyzing food costs, managing and overseeing dining room service, and planning and executing catered events. Through lecture and “hands-on” experiences, students will have the opportunity to write resumes, explore career options, experiment with plate presentation, and learn to develop discriminating palates by participating in a set of recipe development and modification exercises.

ONCE A WEEK
LS2300 | Foodservice Management 2

LS2300 is a seminar format course designed to expose students to many important foodservice management concepts, practices, and techniques through the creation of individualized hypothetical businesses. Students in Foodservice Management 2 must be prepared to make class presentations in every class session. The course is taught in a seminar format which requires intense interaction between each student and the instructor and each student and his or her classmates. Each class, a different portion of the Foodservice Management Project Assignment will be due. The course will culminate in presentation of the entire FSM package by each student. As students work through the FSM assignment, they may change or improve upon prior work submissions. The goal of this class is to use class-time interaction to help each student improve upon his or her own FSM package.

ONCE A WEEK
PA2400 | ICASI Student Cafe

PA2400 is the final course in the Pastry Arts Diploma program. It is designed to allow students to integrate and practice all of the skills learned in prior classes through the planning and production of several meal events. Students registered for PA2400 will have the opportunity to:

• Create original menus for ISC events.
• Develop original recipes for ISC events.
• Calculate preliminary food cost data and create food purchase orders for ISC events.
• Develop a prep work plan, assign tasks, and produce all foods necessary to execute ISC events.
• Execute ISC luncheon events according to customer orders (Student Café luncheons).
• Critique performance at ISC events with supervising chef-instructors.

THREE TIMES PER WEEK
PA2500 | Externship

Students have the opportunity to work in a professional situation under the guidance of a trained pastry chef. Students must commit to a minimum of 200 hours and are compensated for their work.

MIN. OF 200 HOURS
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