Curriculum

Each session is 12 weeks in duration. Kitchen and classroom training is 8 weeks.
For the final 4 weeks, the students are in restaurant placements.

Daily - 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday thru Friday:

Student breakfast
Inspirational quote of the day, written on the blackboard and discussed
Classroom lesson: informational lectures on industry practices; food, recipe and menu discussions
15 minutes of physical exercise drills
Kitchen practicals (the bulk of the day), incorporating the information taught in that morning’s lessons
Lunch, comprising the food prepared during the practicals
Kitchen clean-up; disciplined, all specific duties assigned
10-minute student break
Written exam, guest lecturer, recap of the day's studies, or extra knife work, as determined on a daily basis by the teachers

Weekly - events incorporated into the daily curriculum of the following days:

Monday

Discussion of what was learned at the students' weekend work placements at either Mowbray Farm Fresh or Fruit & Veg City
Assign the weekly rotation of two students for knife duty (opening, sharpening, closing the knives for the day)
Assign the new country that is to be studied and spotlighted that week (as extra-curricular work, the students study on their own the foods of the assigned country; they are encouraged to take home books from the school library)

Wednesday

An invited guest lecturer/chef speaks to the students and answers questions (the day of the week for this may be shifted, depending on the guest's availability; there may be up to two speakers per week)

Friday

Students give 2-3-minute oral presentations to the class on the foods of the country studied that week
Complete written exam on the terms, methods and procedures, foods, key terms and information learned throughout the week
If applicable, students write thank you letters to the new contributors to the school
Student/teacher meetings: each student is given a 5-10-minute private meeting with the teachers to discuss his or her progress, issues, needs and wishes; these meetings are private and all matters discussed are held in the strictest confidence

Saturday and/or Sunday

Each student appears in the morning at either Mowbray Farm Fresh or Fruit & Veg City for a day of work, as supervised by the staff of those establishments

WEEK 1: GENERAL ORIENTATION – STOCKS & SOUPS

Introduction to class rules, expectations, requirements for success; nametags, notebooks and pens are distributed
Past graduates greet the new class; phone numbers are exchanged, mentors assigned
Introduction to the life skills required for success
Introduction to the restaurant and catering industry
Introduction to the stations of the professional kitchen
Introduction to the needs of the employing chef: food costs and quality, the essential reliability of employees
Introduction to hygiene and safety
Introduction to cooking methods and ingredients
Introduction to the proper handling of knives
Introduction to nutrition and food's place in various societies
Introductory lessons to stocks and soups and the basic ingredients of several recipes

NOTE: the Week #1 curriculum is reinforced daily throughout the entire course; each week builds on and includes the lessons of previous weeks; all lessons consist of chef demonstrations followed by student practicals; all day, everyday, kitchen hygiene, cleanliness, safety and professional attitude are rigorously taught and enforced

WEEK 2: SANDWICHES – FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Preparing simple sandwiches
Identifying various fruits and vegetables
Salad preparation and making salad dressings
Introduction and proper use of new tools
Continuing knife skills
THE CUT: at the end of the second week, any student not showing the necessary dedication, commitment and work ethic is permanently dismissed from the class

WEEK 3: BREAKFASTS

Students receive their chef's uniforms
Understanding breakfast: the various use and preparations of eggs, cereals, dairy products and breakfast meats
Introduction to breads, pastries and desserts

WEEK 4: BREAD AND PASTRY – CHEESES

Introduction to baking
Tasting and identifying the most commonly used cheeses
Curriculum augmented with the ingredients used in the preceding weeks

WEEK 5: STARCHES – SAUCES – HERBS AND SPICES

Various potato, rice and pasta preparations
Various and appropriate sauces (the traditional "Mother Sauces" are explained)
Introduction to herbs, spices, various condiments and pickled ingredients
Introduction to plating and presentation

WEEK 6: MEAT, CHICKEN, FISH

Various preparations and dishes, incorporating the above as side dishes
Continued work with sauces, herbs and spices
Extra time spent on honing knife skills

WEEK 7: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Daily work on all of the above (based on the accumulated needs, as decided by the teachers)
Life skills rigorously reinforced, with special attention paid to the pressure situations and time-sensitive performances required in the professional kitchen
Further honing of knife skills
Exams on the standards of cleanliness, hygiene and safety

WEEK 8: WRAPPING UP

A continuation of the daily work
Further reinforcement on the life skills required for the professional world
Polishing knife skills, cleanliness, hygiene and safety
Students are escorted on interviews to various hotels and restaurants in Cape Town and are selected for their four-week placement/apprenticeship

WEEKS 9-12: PLACEMENTS/APPRENTICESHIPS

Each student is placed into a Cape Town restaurant, to work and be assessed by the professional chef and staff
ICT keeps updated on the progress of each student

STUDENT GRADUATION

Students who successfully complete the 8 weeks of kitchen/classroom study and the 4 weeks of professional apprenticeship are awarded an ICT Certificate of Completion of the course.

Click to view ICT's CLASS RULES
Click to view ICT's RULES OF HYGIENE AND SAFETY
Click to view ICT's RULES FOR PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENT