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Food Preparation - Foundations of Cooking

Food Preparation - Foundations of Cooking

Learn food preparation, food handling and safety, cooking equipment and tools and how to cook for optimum nutrition and more.

Course Code: BRE212
Payment Options
Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification Statement of Attainment

Distance Education Course - Cooking and Food Preparation

  • Learn how to prepare and cook food.

  • Understand the principles for selecting, cleaning, cutting, preserving, flavouring, mixing, cooking; and everything else involved in preparing food for consumption.

  • Become a better cook at home, socially, or for work.

This is a stand alone course but one that also complements Food and Beverage Management, Event Management and Self Sufficiency. Some students may wish to become more self sufficient, others may wish to work in a restaurant, catering services, culinary supplies (eg. a kitchen shop) or hospitality services.




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Aims

  • Discuss the scope and nature of food preparation options, and their impact upon the broad qualities of the food presented for eating.
    • Explain and compare options for preparing a wide range of different fruits and vegetables for consumption.
    • Explain and compare options for preparing a wide range of different meat, fish, and protein substitute foods for consumption.
    • Explain and compare options for preparing a wide range of dairy foods for consumption.
    • Explain and compare options for preparing a wide range of different fats and sugars (or foods high in fat or sugar) for consumption.
    • Explain and compare a wide range of different food flavourings, seasonings, garnishes, sauces, etc for consumption.
    • Design a Menu for feeding small numbers of people, such as family meals or a dinner party.
    • Design a menu for feeding large of people such as catering for a party or restaurant.
    • Explain how a large variety of different foods are prepared for serving and eating.

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

  1. Introduction
    • History of cooking/ Trends
    • Principles of Cooking
    • Nutrition
    • Scope of the Catering industry
    • Weights and measures
    • Basic cooking techniques
    • Terms
  2. Fruit and vegetables
    • Why eat Fruit & Veg; How much a person should eat; How poor preparation can damage nutritional value
    • How to choose fruit and vegetables when shopping
    • Basics of preparation- peeling slicing etc
    • Cooking techniques
    • Nutritional information relating to food group
  3. Cereals & Starches; Bread, cereals and potatoes
    • Preparation- including how to make fresh pasta
    • Why eat cereals & starche; How much a person should eat; How poor preparation can damage nutritional value
    • How to prepare potatoes- different types of potato dishes- mashed, boiled, daulphinoise etc
    • Cooking pasta- different recipes
    • Cooking Rice, cous cous etc.
    • Nutritional information relating to food group
  4. Meat Fish and Alternatives
    • How much a person should eat
    • How poor preparation can damage nutritional value
    • Selecting the perfect cut of meat/ basic butchery, fish mongery
    • How to prepare and cook it, which sauces compliment it.
    • Eggs- cooking different types
    • Cooking with pulses
    • Nutritional information relating to food group
  5. Milk and dairy
    • How much a person should eat
    • How poor preparation can damage nutritional value
    • Cheese making basics
    • Cheese types and recipes
    • Basic recipes e.g. Macaroni cheese
    • Dairy free cooking
    • Yoghurt
    • How to make it, use in sauces
    • Dairy free cooking
    • Nutritional information relating to food group
  6. Fats and Sugars
    • How much a person should eat
    • How poor preparation can damage nutritional value
    • How to make perfect puddings
    • Types of fat
    • How to adapt recipes to reduce sugar and fat- catering for low fat and low sugar dietary requirements
    • Nutritional information relating to food group
  7. Flavouring Food
    • More on complimenting foods- sauces- cream, wine, butter, vinaigrette etc
    • Stocks
    • Use of herbs/ seasoning
  8. Menu planning on a Small Scale
    • Designing menus- complimenting foods
    • Recipes simple to advanced- Seasonal foods
    • Planning a dinner party- case study
  9. Menu Planning on a Large Scale
    • Planning Meals/Catering for parties and events; outdoor, indoor etc
    • Restaurant Menus/Catering

Accreditations

Study Gold CoastACS Global PartnerInternational Approval and Registration Centre

Working as a Cook or Chef

Chefs will prepare a variety of foods, from entrees to desserts. Chefs are responsible for creating recipes and menus, then preparing the foods for customers at restaurants and other food service establishments. Chefs and head cooks are also responsible for supervising and managing other kitchen staff to ensure the quality and uniformity of food presentation is maintained, such as junior chefs, chef assistance, kitchen staff, and prep staff. They will also be responsible for ordering the correct quantity of food to be able to fill requirements.  In larger restaurants there may be a team of chefs and kitchen staff. They will each have a designated job that they complete.

Chefs may work across a variety of different roles, or may specialise in a particular food, such as pastry chefs, breakfast chefs, short-order chefs, teppanyaki chefs, soup chefs, executive chefs.

Opportunities
There are so many different opportunities for a chef. They may start their own service establishment, or work for someone else. The type of establishment they can work in varies from a fast food restaurant to fine dining, a beach-side café, a hospital or school cafeteria, a retirement village, a holiday resort; not to mention to mention the different types of food that may be prepared at different establishments. Other chefs work as private household chefs, preparing meals for individuals and families. This type of chef prepares meals to the client's specifications and dietary needs and personal chefs prepare a week's worth of meals that can be reheated. They can be self-employed or work for a company that provides this service.

There tends to be a fairly high turn around for chefs, and chefs are generally in high demand. You may find that if you get a job in the kitchen you will be able to move your way up to a head chef position relatively fast.

Risks and challenges
Working as a chef or cook can be very physically demanding. The environment is often very hot, they spend a lot of their time standing, and lifting heavy pots and pans.

Their work is highly stressful. The kitchen can be very fast paced and the environment can be highly pressurised. Many chefs will work long and unsociable hours, including late evenings, early mornings, weekends and public holidays.

How to become a Chef or Cook
Whilst much of the learning will be completed on the job, a chef will generally have undergone some form of training. There are many different options available for training, from short courses to courses lasting several years. Ultimately it will be the experience that is gained on the job that will be of most value. When you start as a chef  or cook you will most likely start at the bottom of the ladder working as a dishwasher or kitchen hand, then working your way up. As a chef moves up the ranks they will need to develop leadership and management skills to run the kitchen efficiently.


AFTER THIS COURSE:

  • Be more knowledgeable in all aspects of food preparation.
  • Be more confident cooking for your family.
  • Be more confident seeking employment or opening a business in this field.
  • Be more confident in your approach to catering or within your catering business.
  • Use it as a professional development course for employees to improve their knowledge.
 
 

Enrol using the automated procedure on this site or contact us via phone or email to ask questions and enrol with a real person.

You can enrol at anytime and start the course when you are ready. Enrolments are accepted all year - students can commence study at any time. All study is self paced and ACS does not set assignment deadlines.

Please note that if a student is being assisted by someone else (e.g. an employer or government subsidy), the body offering the assistance may set deadlines. Students in such situations are advised to check with their sponsor prior to enrolling. The nominal duration of a course is approximately how long a course takes to complete. A course with a nominal duration of 100 hours is expected to take roughly 100 hours of study time to complete. However, this will vary from student to student. Short courses (eg. 100 hrs duration) should be completed within 12 months of enrolment. Certificates, Advanced Certificates and Awards (eg. over 500 hours duration) would normally be completed within 3 -5 years of enrolment. Additional fees may apply if a student requires an extended period to complete.
If a student cannot submit their assignments for 6 months to ACS, they should advise the school to avoid cancellation of their student
registration. Recommencement fees may apply.

Simply click on the ENROL OPTIONS button at the top of this screen and follow the prompts.

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We also have Afterpay that will allow you to pay for your course or payment plans in four instalments (if you are in Australia).

There are no entry requirements that you need to meet to enrol in our courses, our courses are for everyone.
If you are under 18, we need written permission from your parent/ guardian for your enrolment to continue, we can arrange that after you have enrolled.

You don’t need to purchase any additional resources to complete our courses.

What do I need to know before I enrol?

We aim to teach you the essentials without you having to purchase any specific computer program.
We recommend that you have access to a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs, so that you can easily complete and submit your assignments.

You sure can. We are here to help you learn whatever your abilities.

Yes, if you are enrolling in a Certificate or Advanced Certificate, you might be eligible for credits if you have evidence of your previous studies or relevant experience. More information is here.

We recommend that you are able to browse websites, send emails and conduct online research. You will need to be able to type and submit your assignments.
If you have limited computer skills, we can make special arrangements for you.

This is possible, it depends on the institution. We recommend that if you would like to use our courses that you contact the institution first. Our Course Handbook is a good resource for this.

Our courses are written in English and we only have English speaking academic staff. If you can read and complete your assignments in English, our courses are ideal for you.

Our courses are designed to build knowledge, hands on skills and industry connections to help prepare you to work in the area, running your own business, professional development or as a base for further study.

This course has been designed to cover the fundamentals of the topic. It will take around 100 hours to complete, which includes your course reading, assignment work, research, practical tasks, watching videos and anything else that is contained in the course. Our short courses are a great way to do some professional development or to learn a new skill.

It’s up to you. The study hours listed in the course are a rough guide, however if you were to study a short course (100 hours) at 10 hours per week, you could finish the course in 10 weeks (just an example). Our courses are self-paced, so you can work through the courses in your own time. We recommend that you wait for your tutor to mark and return your assignment before your start your next one, so you get the benefits of their feedback.

The course consists of course notes, videos, set tasks for your practical work, online quizzes, an assignment for each lesson (that you receive feedback from your tutor from) and ends in an exam (which is optional, if would like to receive the formal award at the end), using our custom built Learning Management System - Login.Training.

Our courses are designed for adults to gain professional development and skills to further their careers and start businesses.

Our custom online learning portal allows you to conduct your learning online. There may be practical tasks that you can do offline. You have the option of downloading your course notes or print them to read later.

There is also the option to pay an additional fee for printed course notes and or USB (availability limited to location and deliverability).

Yes, if you don’t have access to the internet, you can receive the course as paper notes or on a USB stick for an additional fee. We can also make alternative arrangements for you to send your assignments to us.

We offer printed notes for an additional fee. Also, you can request your course notes on a USB stick for an additional fee.

Yes, your tutor is here to help you. Simply post any questions you have in your login.training portal or contact the office and we can pass on a message to your tutor.

We are more learning focussed, rather than assessment focussed. You have online quizzes to test your learning, written assignments and can complete an exam at the end of the course (if you want to receive your certificate). You will not receive a pass/ fail on your course work. If you need to add more details on your assignment, we will ask you to resubmit and direct you where you need to focus. If you need help, you can ask your tutor for advice in the student room.

Each module (short course) is completed with one exam.

Exams are optional, however you must sit an exam if you would like to receive a formal award. You will need to find someone who can supervise that you are sitting the exams under exams conditions. There is an additional cost of $60 incl. GST for each exam.
More information is here

There are practical components built into the course that have been designed to be achieved by anyone, anywhere. If you are unable to complete a task for any reason, you can ask your tutor for an alternative.

When you complete the course work and the exam and you will be able receive your course certificate- a Statement of Attainment. Otherwise, you can receive a Letter of Completion.

You can bundle the short courses to create your own customised learning bundle, Certificates or Advanced Certificates. More information is on this page.

Yes, our courses are built to be applicable for people living anywhere in any situation. We provide the fundamentals, and each student can apply their own unique flair for their own interests, region and circumstances with the one-on-one guidance of a tutor. There is also a bit of student directed research involved.

Employers value candidates with industry skills, knowledge, practical skills and formal learning. Our courses arm you with all of these things to help prepare you for a job or start your own business. The longer you study the more you will learn.

ACS has an arrangement with OAMPS (formerly AMP) who can arrange Professional Indemnity from Australian and New Zealand graduates across all disciplines. Ph: 1800 222 012 or email acs@oamps.com.au.

Who are ACS Distance Education?

ACS Distance Education have been educating people for over 40 years.

We are established and safe- we have been in education for over 40 years.
We are focused on developing innovative courses that are relevant to you now and what you will need to know in the future.
We are focused on helping you learn and make the most of your experience.
You can enrol at any time, you can work on your course when it suits you and at your own pace.
We are connected to many industry bodies and our staff participate in continuous improvement and learning activities to ensure that we are ahead of what learning is needed for the future.

Our courses are not accredited by the Australian Government. However many of our courses are recognised and held in high regard by many industry bodies.

Our courses are written by our staff, who all have many years experience and have qualifications in their speciality area. We have lots of academic staff who write and update our courses regularly.

How do I enrol my staff/ sponsored students?

Yes, you can do a request for a bulk enrolment and request an invoice on our Invoice Request Form

We can prepare an invoice, quote or proforma invoice. Simply complete your details on our Invoice Request form

We can arrange bulk discounts for your course enrolment, please get in touch with us to discuss your needs.

Yes, we have many students who are in locked facilities, such as prisons or hospitals. We can cater by also offering paper notes at an additional cost.

What if I have any more questions or need more information?

We can assist you to find the right course for your needs. Get in touch with us via email (admin@acs.edu.au) call on +61 7 5562 1088 or complete our course advice form.

What if I change my mind?

Please get in touch with studentservices@acs.edu.au if you would like to be removed from our mail list.

If you would like ACS Distance Education to delete your information at any time (whether you are a customer or a prospective customer), please contact our privacy officer and we will process this ( admin@acs.edu.au ).

If students require a reproduction of their certificate, an electronic copy can be provided at a cost of AUD$35 incl GST. Printed copies are not available.

Course Contributors

The following academics were involved in the development and/or updating of this course.

Karen Lee
Karen Lee

Nutritional Scientist, Dietician, Teacher and Author.
BSc. Hons. (Biological Sciences), Postgraduate Diploma Nutrition and Dietetics.
Registered dietitian in the UK, with over 15 years working in the NHS. Karen has undertaken a number of research projects and has lectured to undergraduate university students. Has co authored two books on nutrition and several other books in health sciences.

Lyn Quirk
Lyn Quirk

M.Prof.Ed.; Adv.Dip.Compl.Med (Naturopathy); Adv.Dip.Sports Therapy
Over 30 years as Health Club Manager, Fitness Professional, Teacher, Coach and Business manager in health, fitness and leisure industries. As business owner and former department head for TAFE, she brings a wealth of skills and experience to her role as a tutor for ACS.

Jade Sciascia
Jade Sciascia

Biologist, Business Coordinator, Government Environmental Dept, Secondary School teacher (Biology); Recruitment Consultant, Senior Supervisor in Youth Welfare, Horse Riding Instructor (part-completed) and Boarding Kennel Manager.
Jade has a B.Sc.Biol, Dip.Professional Education, Cert IV TESOL, Cert Food Hygiene.

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