The Food School Bangkok, Thailand’s top progressive culinary institution formed by three leading global cookery schools, is blazing a trail in the gastronomic education arena, with hands-on restaurant simulations recently becoming a key part of long-term programmes.
Students can obtain practical experience of working in a kitchen, develop real-world skills and have an opportunity to elevate cookery abilities in a controlled learning environment. From managing and operating a restaurant, to the broadening of culinary credentials and evolution of menus, aspiring chefs can gain vital insights of productively running venues.
Members of the public can come and try the food as paying customers during simulations, set to take place from December 12 to 15 in the business incubator area on the school’s G floor. They can choose from a set menu and enjoy innovative dishes made by the pupils.
Building Culinary Skills Through Restaurant Simulation Training
Initiated by three partners: Italy’s ALMA – The School of Italian Culinary Arts, Japan’s Tsuji Culinary Institute, and Dusit Thani College, Thailand’s leading hospitality and culinary arts management institute, The Food School Bangkok has built a reputation for delivering top notch culinary education to students made up of Thai and international food aficionados.
The Food School Bangkok has an exciting range of training courses to choose from, such as long programmes, intensive programmes, short courses, and special courses. Its 200+ hour long programmes feature three study levels: essential, intermediate, and advanced.
Restaurant simulations are part of advanced level courses whereby students will not only boost their cooking skills and be taught the core principles of food service, but also learn about kitchen management, and ideal methods to organize operational costs effectively.
Once the students have successfully navigated the fundamental steps in the course, they will embark on a two-week restaurant simulation case study. This hands-on experience is certain to bring them tremendous benefits as it will allow for theoretical knowledge to be applied to real-life scenarios, using newly acquired skills to operate their own restaurant.
During the 14-days of study, the would-be chefs are asked to devise their own menu sets, under the guidance of their instructors. The assignment involves coming up with three to four dishes, depending on the type of cuisine, and determining the prices for every dish.
In addition, students will be taught how to maintain proper hygiene, learn about usage of kitchen equipment, learn to prepare ingredients, and other vital steps of a chef’s routine. Instructors will then review the processes to ensure pupils are ready for the simulations.
The Food School Bangkok’s Fresh Approach to Culinary Education
On the day of the restaurant simulation, the first thing that matriculates of the school do is prepare all the necessary ingredients for the menus to be served to customers, who have three types of cuisines to choose from, with Thai, Japanese, and Italian options to savour.
As the simulation will be open to outside guests, the apprentice chefs have the chance to work on critical-thinking and problem-solving, particularly in managing the ingredients for each menu item, amid high demand. The importance of timely service is also considered, especially when they are required to send out large quantities of orders from the kitchen.
Following the departure of customers, the chefs will then tidy up the kitchen, making sure that all utensils, surfaces, and cooking stations are clean. This activity nurtures a sense of responsibility and teamwork, while allowing instructors to accurately gauge the progress.
To add extra layers of excitement during the restaurant simulations, students representing the three culinary traditions (Thai, Japanese, and Italian) will join in with a competition: the team that manages to score the most points will be declared as the winner of the contest.
When the scores of the competition are being determined, a range of different factors will be assessed, including levels of teamwork, the creativity and appeal of food presentation, the overall taste and flavour of the dishes served, as well as the ability to solve problems.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything at The Food School Bangkok, and students that take part in the restaurant simulations will see this for themselves when sustainable, zero-waste practices are demonstrated to them, resulting in less food being thrown away. The sourcing of ingredients from local supplies and the school’s vertical farm is encouraged.
The primary goal of the restaurant simulations is to enable students to apply the skills and cooking techniques they have learned, supporting the development of culinary expertise, and entrepreneurial acumen. This approach can help them to prepare for launching their own restaurant businesses or being able to land executive roles within the food industry.
With its top-notch facilities and commitment to excellence, The Food School Bangkok can be highly recommended to anyone wishing to elevate their cookery skills. It has all of the key resources to give all students enrolled a great chance of mastering the culinary arts.
Situated in the heart of Bangkok, The Food School Bangkok is just a short walk from MRT Samyan station. For further information regarding the courses, please go on the school’s website or Facebook page, or you may wish to call their team directly on: 02-150-8786.
