KP Education Systems will be traveling the country this summer visiting various exotic destinations throughout the United States to promote the all new 2008 culinary arts curriculum resource The Sous Chef.  We are very excited this year with the unveiling of the newest edition, turning a great comprehensive presentation tool into a very useful customizable teaching tool.  If you are going to any of these conferences or are nearby, please stop by and see us.

Date	Conference	City
June 17, 2008	ACTE Region 3	Minneapolis
June 17, 2008	ILACTE	Springfield
June 19, 2008	AAFCS American Association of Family Consumer Sciences	Milwaukee
June 24, 2008	Skills USA	Kansas City
June 24, 2008	PAACTE	Pittsburgh
July 9, 2008	HSTW High School That Work	Nashville
July 14, 2008	FCCLA  Family Careers Community Leaders of America	Orlando
July 20, 2008	GACTE	Atlanta
July 21, 2008	AZACTE	Tucson
July 21, 2008	MOACTE	Springfield
July 22, 2008	NCACTE	Greensboro
July 23, 2008	MSACTE	Raymond
July 28, 2008	KYACTE	Louisville
July 30, 2008	CHRIE Council on Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Education	Atlanta
July 30, 2008	NVACTE	Lake Tahoe
August 4, 2008	OKACTE Oklahoma Tech Prep	Oklahoma City
August 5, 2008	FCSTAT Family Consumer Sciences Teachers Association of Texas	Dallas
August 7, 2008	ORAFCS	Woodburn
August 11, 2008	WACTE	Spokane

 

Hope to see you this summer

A greatly upgraded and enhanced version of the Sous Chef™, the computer-based culinary arts education resource, will be released in the summer of 2008, announced publisher KP Education Systems.  The all new Version 7 features additional content, a broad range of new and improved features, and a complete graphical and functional redesign.  This new version, much of it based on teacher and student feedback, makes the Sous Chef™ even more attractive as a textbook replacement for secondary and post-
secondary classes in culinary arts, foods, and nutrition. KP Systems has made every effort to create an interactive teaching tool that anticipates a teacher’s needs and allows her or him to maximize teaching time and effort.

Set to release in the summer of 2008, information about the new product can be downloaded in this PDF document.  2008 KP Product Line.

Partial list of new features:

• Differentiated Content – New Version 7 comes in three separate product lines, each with varying content and features to meet the needs of different programs and classes.
• KPI3® = KP Intuitive Interactive Interface®, the unique customizable backbone of the Sous Chef™.
• Professional slides with extensive text and full color photos/illustrations.
• Professional instructional videos.
• French – Over 800 culinary French terms and their spoken pronunciations.
• KP Print – The Sous Chef™ comes with the unique license to print any slide in the program and use as a student handout effectively eliminating the need to purchase expensive workbooks.
• Lesson Plan Builder – build lesson plans within the Sous Chef™ for presentations, student make up work and self paced learning.
• Slide Importer – import your own slides and integrate them into the Sous Chef™.
• Note Taker – annotate any slide with your own words.
• Question Creator – create your own quiz questions, referenced to any slide.
• Recipe Importer – add your own recipes or import them from Mastercook™.
• Full Text Search – quickly and easily find the information you need using the power of Google™
• KP Community – online integration to link educators across the country.
• KP Live – gain the advantage of accessing live content, updates, and the World Wide Web.
• KP Modules – as new advanced features are developed and introduced, they can be plugged in to the Sous Chef™.

Please download our complete product sheet here.

Culinary students attending the SkillsUSA national competitions are getting an added bonus to winning the competitions.  KP Education Systems donated six copies of the Sous Chef™ to the winners of the Culinary and Baking competitions.  First, Second and Third place winners will receive their copies at the awards ceremony following final judging.

KP Education System’s will be traveling the country this summer visiting various exotic destinations throughout the United States to promote the premier culinary arts curriculum resource The Sous Chef.  If you are going to any of these conferences or are nearby, please stop by and see us.

June 21-31 AAFCS in Reno, NV
June 26-28 Skills USA Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, MO
July 9-13 FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, CA
JUly 18-19 Alabama ACTE
July 18-19 Texas CTAT in San Antonio, TX
July 24-25 Texas FCS in Dallas TX
July 25-27 I-CHRIE Annual Conference in Dallas, TX
July 29-30 ARACTE in Hot Springs, AR
August 1-3 Oklahoma ACTE
August 6-7 Kansas ACTE
August 13-14 Washington ACTE

Hope to see you this summer!

A personal, portable version of The Sous Chef™ multimedia learning resource is now available to culinary arts students.

For the first time, the new Culinary Fundamentals edition allows individual students anywhere/anytime access to all of the information, features and resources of the computer-based Sous Chef™ text/training system.

The Sous Chef™ is the only comprehensive, integrated system combining audio, video, text and illustrations to teach culinary techniques and content.  The Sous Chef™ has been available in a school-based version from publisher and distributor KP Education Systems since its initial release seven years ago.

This new Culinary Fundamentals edition is published in four separate volumes that can be assigned as a primary or secondary text.

The new version allows students to use the program not just at school, but on any computer with internet access. A unique feature allows the Culinary Fundamentals edition to be either purchased outright or to be paid for just for use during a semester or school year.

“It takes our concept further, putting this powerful resource directly in the students’ hands,” says Nai Wang, president of KP Systems and one of the authors of the Sous Chef™. “It is better than gold,” according to John Stimbert, culinary student. “It has helped me continuously in my professional career since I graduated.”

A test version of the Culinary Fundamentals edition has been well received by students and faculty at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona, where it is being used in a “first of its kind” online program for culinary students. Other early users include Taos (New Mexico) High School, Canton (Ohio) South High School, and the Technical Education Center of Carrollton, Georgia.

The Sous Chef™ differs from most multimedia teaching resources in two major ways, according to Wang.

First, it doesn’t offer a “celebrity chef” teaching you his or her latest recipe.

Rather, the Sous Chef™ is written and presented by an experienced culinary educator.  Instead of “this year’s trends” and the newest “in” ingredients, it shows the classic techniques that form a basis for all good cooking in both the home and professional kitchen. 

Second, the Sous Chef™ system teaches those skills and techniques in a unique way.

Instead of being a printed cookbook or textbook, the Sous Chef™ program is installed on your home, business, or classroom computer. The unique advantage of the system is its use of high-quality video to teach culinary techniques and principles.

A traditional text uses one or more static photographs to demonstrate a skill like dicing an onion or making an omelet. The Sous Chef™ instead has a master chef/instructor demonstrating the same skill in a voice-over video. Between 50 and 75 instructional videos are contained in each volume of the Culinary Fundamentals series.

The four volumes in the Culinary Fundamentals series are: Basics; Hot Foods; Garde Manger & Breakfast; and Bakery & Pastry.

Culinary Fundamentals: Basics
Start your culinary training with this volume. Basics covers the subjects, information and techniques that are a necessary launching point for a career in the kitchen. Many of the topics covered can also greatly enhance the skills of the serious home chef. Among the topics covered in Basics:

• Safety and sanitation techniques
• Nutrition
• Knife skills
• Use and care of  professional kitchen equipment
• Vegetable preparation
• Plate presentations

Culinary Fundamentals: Hot Foods
This volume teaches the essentials of hot foods and related skills. The techniques and knowledge learned here will further you in your career or just increase your skill and enjoyment at home. Hot Foods covers:

• Cooking techniques from boiling to frying
• Kinds of heat
• Stock, sauce and soup making
• Working with meat, poultry and seafood
• Basic cuts and butchering

Culinary Fundamentals: Garde Manger & Breakfast
Learn the techniques, skills and terminology of working with cold foods. Also covered in this volume are breakfast foods and techniques. Topics covered in Garde Manger & Breakfast include:

• Salads, dressings, sandwiches, hors d’oeuvre/canapés 
• Uses and cooking methods for eggs, omelets
• Cheeses and dairy
• Garnishing and plate presentations
• Vegetable, fruit and ice carving

Culinary Fundamentals: Bakery & Pastry
All aspects of baking are covered in this volume for both the professional and the serious home cook. Learn the terminology, skills and techniques of the bakery/pastry kitchen.  Bakery & Pastry subjects include:

• Measuring, yields, yeasts and other leavening agents
• Types and making of basic breads and dough
• Pastry, cake, pie, cookie, and sheeted dough
• Icings, fillings, and sauces
• Pastry decoration and desert plate presentations

The Sous Chef™ is not just videos, however. Each volume contains hundreds of “text” slides or pages with words and pictures that can be viewed individually on the computer screen or shown through a projector or monitor.

Other than clicking on a mouse, absolutely no computer skills or knowledge are necessary to teach with, or learn from, the Sous Chef™.  It is used just like a book.

The program opens with a view of the title page; from there, you choose and click on a chapter.  Each chapter begins with an overview and a listing of competencies taught in that section. Then you either scroll through each “page’ in the section or use the complete chapter index to find the exact lesson you are seeking.

Imagine learning a specific kitchen job -- dicing an onion, preparing salad dressing, grilling a chop. Like any book, The Sous Chef™ will tell you how. Unlike any other text, however, The Sous Chef™ also shows you how. After reading about the process, click on a bar and a master chef displays the technique on video, demonstrating and explaining from beginning to end.

“The Sous Chef™ approach offers a number of advantages to both teacher and student,” says KP Systems president Wang. “Most importantly, it eliminates repetitive demonstrations. Students who miss a kitchen demonstration or need multiple viewings can watch a video as often as they wish.  We have over 250 separate videos demonstrating everything from simple knife cuts to advanced ice carving.”
The four volumes of Culinary Fundamentals together contain close to 1,000 text pages with more than 1200 full-color photos, illustrations, and diagrams.  Sous Chef™ author and demonstrator Dominic O’Neill drew on his more than 30 years cooking and teaching experience to create the current package. O’Neill and his staff also continue to expand the size and the number of techniques covered.

“This program is a refinement of the thousands of culinary arts classes that Dominic has taught,” said Wang.  Chef O’Neill also points out that he uses the system as the basis for his own community college courses, both on campus and on-line.

In the classic French kitchen brigade, the sous chef (literally, “under the chef”) is the second in command, the executive chef’s assistant. The Sous Chef™ plays the same role in the professional training environment or the home kitchen.

The Sous Chef™ culinary arts educational system is currently being used in more than 600 high schools, colleges, and vocational programs in North America. Restaurants, corporate foodservice providers, non-profits, and the military have also seen the advantages of the latest technology in culinary training.

The four volumes of the new Culinary Fundamental series can be purchased at the kpculinary.com website or from a limited number of college bookstores  and professional outlets.

More information about Culinary Fundamentals and all the other editions of the Sous Chef™ can be found at kpculinary.com or by calling 800-701-6323.

Contact Jim Murray
KP Director of Sales and Marketing
800.701.6323 x914

More than 600 schools are now using the Sous Chef™ culinary education resource across North America, the company recently announced.  “We are very pleased that our phenomenal growth rate is continuing into 2007,” said Nai Wang.

“This means over 20,000 students now have access to the Sous Chef™ system as part of their training in culinary technique and knowledge,” said Wang, president and spokesman for KP Systems, the publishers and distributors of the Sous Chef™. “This reinforces our strong belief that we have designed and produced the first, and best, multimedia educational program in the entire culinary field.”

Both secondary and post-secondary students are the primary users of the computer-based system. The Sous Chef™ is an education tool designed to enhance training in cooking techniques and skills for students, professional and home learners.

"The Sous Chef™ is unlike any other teaching resource available. Educators show tremendous interest and positive reactions to the product," said Wang, explaining the continuing double-digit growth in schools purchasing and adopting the product.

The Sous Chef™ is a complete system for teaching culinary skills. It contains more than 250 videos explaining and demonstrating all areas of cooking and food preparation.  It also has 1,000 text pages/slides and over 1,100 photos/diagrams/illustrations.  All of this material can be viewed by an entire class on large monitors or screen projectors, or it can be accessed on PCs by individual students or small groups.

The Sous Chef™ was written and produced based on decades of classroom and teaching experience. It is designed to offer “in the classroom” support to instructors who have a broad spectrum of experience and culinary skills, according to Wang.   “One of our users told us, ‘You make chefs better teachers…and you make teachers better chefs.’”

“This system can enhance, or even replace, traditional textbook-based curricula in high schools, colleges, and vocational schools and programs,” said Dominic O’Neill, principal author and instructor for The Sous Chef™. Chef O’Neill is director of the Culinary Arts Program at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona.
         
The system mixes classic culinary knowledge and techniques with the latest in e-learning (computer-based) technology, said Chef O’Neill. While traditional culinary instruction is at the heart of the Sous Chef™ system, KP Systems believes their computer-based program is a huge improvement in supporting teachers.

Imagine learning a specific kitchen job -- dicing an onion, preparing salad dressing, grilling a chop. Like any textbook, The Sous Chef™ will tell you how. Unlike any other text, however, The Sous Chef™ also shows you how. After reading about the process, click on a bar and O’Neill, or another master chef, display the technique on video, demonstrating and explaining from beginning to end.

The Sous Chef™ system is used like a book. The program opens with a view of the title page; from there, you choose and click on a chapter.  Each chapter begins with an overview and a listing of competencies taught in that section. Then you either scroll through each “slide” or “page” in the section or use the complete index to find the exact lesson you are seeking.

“The Sous Chef approach offers a number of advantages to both teacher and student,” said O’Neill. “Most importantly, it eliminates repetitive demonstrations. Students who miss a kitchen demonstration or need multiple viewings can watch a video as often as they wish.  We have over 250 separate videos demonstrating everything from simple knife cuts to advanced ice carving.”

KP president Wang said that O’Neill drew on his more than 30 years cooking and teaching experience to make the Sous Chef™ a complete two-year culinary curriculum. “This program is a refinement of the thousands of culinary arts classes that Dominic has taught,” said Wang.

O’Neill has not only taught students – he has taught teachers. “Chef O’Neill, in addition to teaching thousands of college and high school students, has also instructed hundreds of secondary level teachers who then take his techniques back to their own classrooms,” continued Wang.

The Sous Chef™ can be of special help in working with all types of learners. Advanced students can have access to culinary topics and techniques that might not be applicable for the entire class.

Instructors can audiovisually reinforce material for struggling students or slower learners by offering them repeated viewings that might not continue to engage the entire classroom.

The Sous Chef™ multimedia culinary arts training system will be showcased in May at the National Restaurant Association Show 2006 in Chicago. The show is the largest annual gathering of foodservice professionals, managers, educators and suppliers in the world.

The Sous Chef™is a simple, highly cost-effective way to create or enlarge a culinary training program for all types of commercial and institutional foodservice operations, according to Sous Chef™publisher, KP Educational Systems.

The Sous Chef™ exhibit will be located in booth 7853 in the North Hall, Level 3, of the city’s lakeside McCormick Place convention center.  The product has also been chosen for listing in the show’s Hot New Products category.

The Sous Chef™ is offered in specialized configurations and editions for both large and small schools or training programs. Also available are versions for businesses, students, and home learners.

“The Sous Chef™was originally conceived for the educational market, but demand from the commercial sector prompted us to offer a business version,” said Nai Wang, KP president and co-creator of the Sous Chef™.

“The true value of the Sous Chef™in the commercial sector is how training can add to the bottom line,” he said.

Both the Business and Education editions of the Sous Chef™ will be on display in Chicago, along with Culinary Fundamentals, a new four volume series highlighting specific training areas. The new Culinary Fundamentals are used for online college courses and self study.

Companies using the Business Edition for training have reported “increased productivity, decreased waste, and the learning or reinforcement of basic kitchen techniques and skills,” Wang said. “They tell us it also helps to ensure consistency and even can inspire new ideas and menu items.”
  
As a result, the Sous Chef™has found a wide range of use in the professional foodservice arena. Not just for schools and other formal education venues, the Sous Chef™can effectively add value to any commercial or institutional culinary training program – large or small, structured or casual.

The system is currently in use at schools as well as a range of restaurants, hotels, caterers, and even cruise ships. Institutional and non-profit users of the technology include hospitals, school kitchens, and the military. 
Any size or type of facility that cooks and serves food can start or add to a culinary training system with the Sous Chef™.

Small independent operations (restaurants, caterers) use the Sous Chef™ for enhancement and advancement. They can install the Sous Chef™ on a work computer and let employees learn new skills and ideas.
Larger kitchens are sometimes able to create “classrooms” as part of a lounge or employee area where individuals and small groups can view the Sous Chef™ on a large monitor or projector screen.

The training structure can be varied according to the needs of the operation.  Some companies offer individual, one-on-one training where the chef or a more experienced employee works with a trainee using the Sous Chef™as a teaching tool.  Other companies organize groups of similar interests to work and learn together.

When not being used formally, the Sous Chef™is available, with just the click of the mouse, to answer specific culinary questions or just to “browse” for a new idea or a specific kitchen technique to learn or review.

The pace of Sous Chef™ training can be adjusted to the unique requirements of the foodservice operation. Some trainers prefer a formal schedule with regular meeting times and a set curriculum. Other kitchens offer self-paced instruction with managers and employees setting goals and instruction periods as needed. 

Even the outcomes of using the Sous Chef™ can be varied according to the needs of the operation.

In smaller operations, the Sous Chef™ is a great resource and reference for informal cross-training and advancement.  According to one of our owners who uses the Sous Chef™ in his small restaurant, his “dishwashers can become line cooks” and “line cooks can become chefs” partly by using the Sous Chef™ to learn new skills and techniques.

In larger kitchens or multi-location operations, a formal organized system of competency training and testing can be established. This type of arrangement can easily be joined to a job classification and wage advancement structure.

This type of program gives your employees (and you) a clear set of guidelines for their career development. KP Education Systems can help create such a system for your multi-unit or large kitchen operation.

Whatever the size of your foodservice operation, the Sous Chef™ can be a valuable start, or addition to, your culinary training program, according to the Sous Chef™ staff. Begin “Teaching With Technology” today.

The Sous Chef™, a complete computer-based culinary reference and training system originally developed for schools, is now available for retail purchase in the new four-volume Culinary Fundamentals edition.

The Sous Chef™ doesn’t offer a “celebrity chef” teaching you the latest recipe. Nor does it explain the “latest trends” or the new “in” kitchen ingredients or accessories. 

Rather, the Sous Chef™ is written and presented by an experienced culinary educator.  It shows the classic techniques that form a basis for all good cooking in both the home and professional kitchen.  Plus, the Sous Chef™ system teaches those skills and techniques in a unique way.

There are four volumes in the Culinary Fundamentals series: Basics; Hot Foods; Garde Manger & Breakfast; and Bakery & Pastry.

Instead of being a printed cookbook or textbook, the Sous Chef™ program is installed on your home, business, or classroom computer. The unique advantage of the system is its use of high-quality video to teach culinary techniques and principles.

A traditional text uses one or more static photographs to demonstrate a skill like dicing an onion or making an omelet. The Sous Chef™ instead has a master chef/instructor demonstrating the same skill in a voice-over video. Between 50 and 75 instructional videos are contained in each volume of the Culinary Fundamentals series.

The Sous Chef™ is not just videos, however. Each volume contains hundreds of “text” slides or pages with words and pictures that can be viewed individually on the computer screen or shown through a projector or monitor.

Other than clicking on a mouse, absolutely no computer skills or knowledge are necessary to teach with, or learn from, the Sous Chef™.  It is used just like a book.

The program opens with a view of the title page; from there, you choose and click on a chapter.  Each chapter begins with an overview and a listing of competencies taught in that section. Then you either scroll through each “page’ in the section or use the complete chapter index to find the exact lesson you are seeking.
Imagine learning a specific kitchen job -- dicing an onion, preparing salad dressing, grilling a chop. Like any book, The Sous Chef™ will tell you how. Unlike any other text, however, The Sous Chef™ also shows you how. After reading about the process, click on a bar and a master chef displays the technique on video, demonstrating and explaining from beginning to end.
“The Sous Chef™ approach offers a number of advantages to both teacher and student,” says KP Systems president Nai Wang. “Most importantly, it eliminates repetitive demonstrations. Students who miss a kitchen demonstration or need multiple viewings can watch a video as often as they wish.  We have over 250 separate videos demonstrating everything from simple knife cuts to advanced ice carving.”
The Sous Chef™ also contains 850 text pages with more than 1000 full-color photos, illustrations, and diagrams.  Sous Chef™   author and demonstrator Dominic O’Neill drew on his more than 30 years cooking and teaching experience to create the current package. O’Neill and his staff also continue to expand the size and the number of techniques covered every year.
“This program is a refinement of the thousands of culinary arts classes that Dominic has taught,” said Wang.  Chef O’Neill also points out that he uses the system as the basis for his own community college courses.
In the classic French kitchen brigade, the sous chef (literally, “under the chef”) is the second in command, the executive chef’s assistant. The Sous Chef™ plays the same role in the professional training environment or the home kitchen.

The Sous Chef™ culinary arts educational system is currently being used in hundreds of high schools, colleges, and vocational programs in North America. Restaurants, corporate foodservice providers, non-profits, and the military have also seen the advantages of the latest technology in culinary training.

The creation of the Sous Chef™ came from the partnership of a seasoned culinary instructor, a veteran multimedia producer, and a talented computer programmer.  It is a complete multimedia culinary arts education resource originally designed for secondary and college students.  Its ease of use and extensive content have also led to the program being adopted by foodservice trainers and professionals, as well as serious non-professional cooks.

If you are an experienced chef instructor, the Sous Chef™ can support you by helping with “the basics.” This leaves more of your time to teach advanced and complex techniques and work individually with students. 

If you have less experience in the culinary arts (or just less time), the Sous Chef™ can also be a great resource. It can explain concepts, illustrate material, and demonstrate techniques quickly and with authority.

The four volumes of the series can be purchased at the kpculinary.com website or from a limited number of professional and retail outlets.

Culinary Fundamentals: Basics
Start your culinary training with this volume. Basics covers the subjects, information and techniques that are a necessary launching point for a career in the kitchen. Many of the topics covered can also greatly enhance the skills of the serious home chef. Among the topics covered in Basics:

• Safety and sanitation techniques
• Nutrition
• Knife skills
• Use and care of  professional kitchen equipment
• Vegetable preparation
• Plate presentations

Culinary Fundamentals: Hot Foods
This volume teaches the essentials of hot foods and related skills. The techniques and knowledge learned here will further you in your career or just increase your skill and enjoyment at home. Hot Foods covers:

• Cooking techniques from boiling to frying
• Kinds of heat
• Stock, sauce and soup making
• Working with meat, poultry and seafood
• Basic cuts and butchering

Culinary Fundamentals: Garde Manger & Breakfast
Learn the techniques, skills and terminology of working with cold foods. Also covered in this volume are breakfast foods and techniques. Topics covered in Garde Manger & Breakfast include:

• Salads, dressings, sandwiches, hors d’oeuvre/canapés 
• Uses and cooking methods for eggs, omelets
• Cheeses and dairy
• Garnishing and plate presentations
• Vegetable, fruit and ice carving

Culinary Fundamentals: Bakery & Pastry
All aspects of baking are covered in this volume for both the professional and the serious home cook. Learn the terminology, skills and techniques of the bakery/pastry kitchen.  Bakery & Pastry subjects include:

• Measuring, yields, yeasts and other leavening agents
• Types and making of basic breads and doughs
• Pastry, cake, pie, cookie, and sheeted doughs
• Icings, fillings, and sauces
• Pastry decoration and desert plate presentations

Culinary Fundamentals Bonus Volume: Dining Room Operations
With purchase of all four Culinary Fundamentals volume, you can receive this bonus chapter on front of the house operations. You will also be able to add a more advanced search function to your complete Culinary Fundamentals library.  Topics include:

• Dining room organization, table and place settings
• Dining room personnel and types of service
• Side work
• Customer relations

More information about Culinary Fundamentals and other editions of the Sous
Chef™ can be found at kpculinary.com or by calling 800-701-6323

KP Education Systems wishes to congratulate an Arizona teacher who uses the Sous Chef™ culinary training resource in her classroom. Rebecca (Becky) Magee has been named High School Chef Educator of the Year by Food Educators Network International (FENI).

Ms. Magee, a teacher at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, AZ, received the honor at the annual FENI Summit, held this year in Orlando. She was recognized for her history of commitment and dedication to her many culinary students.

Ms. Magee has been a culinary instructor in Arizona schools for almost twenty years and has been the lead culinary teacher at Mesquite High School since it opened in 1998.

          The Sous Chef™ is a computer-based education resource designed to teach and enhance culinary skills to secondary, post-secondary, and adult students. It contains more than 250 videos explaining and demonstrating all areas of cooking and food preparation.  It also has 850 text pages and over 1,000 full-color photos, diagrams and illustrations.  All of this material can be viewed on classroom monitors or screen projectors, or it can be accessed by individual students.

“I like the Sous Chef because it reinforces what I teach,” Ms. Magee has been quoted.  She especially appreciates the time and food cost savings she can achieve using the program.

“We have such a diverse group of kids,” she also said. “It helps so much for all the students to see the program.” As in most high schools, the Mesquite program serves a varied group of learners.

The Sous Chef™ can be of special help in working with both advanced students (by giving them access to culinary topics and techniques that might not be applicable for everyone in a class) and struggling students (by offering them repetitive material and demonstrations that might not continue to engage the entire classroom and by audiovisually reinforcing the material they have already been taught).

Ms. Magee and Mesquite High School were one of the earliest adopters of the Sous Chef™ system, implementing it in 2001. Today more than three hundred schools in the United States are using the Sous Chef and more are purchasing the system every week, says Nai Wang, president of KP Education Systems. KP publishes and distributes the Sous Chef™.    

“Of course, we could not be more pleased that Becky, one of our earliest customers and most vocal advocates, has been recognized for her knowledge, dedication and commitment to culinary arts training,” said Wang. “More important is her proven conviction that culinary arts training is valuable not just as a trade or vocation but as a way for students to grow in self-confidence and personal accomplishment.”

The FENI Chef Educator of the Year award is not the only acknowledgement of Ms. Magee’s accomplishments on a national stage.  In 2005, she was one of twelve winners of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) ProStart Teacher Training and Development Awards.

The Sous Chef™ multimedia culinary arts training system will be showcased to the professional marketplace this January at the Catersource Conference and Tradeshow in Las Vegas.

The Sous Chef™ is a simple, highly cost-effective way to create or enlarge a training program for all types of commercial and institutional foodservice operations, according to Sous Chef publisher, KP Educational Systems.

“The Sous Chef™ was originally conceived for the educational market, but demand from the commercial sector prompted us to offer a business version,” said Nai Wang, KP president and co-creator of the Sous Chef™.

Companies using the Sous Chef™ for training have reported “increased productivity, decreased waste, and the learning or reinforcement of basic kitchen techniques and skills,” Wang said. “They tell us it also helps to ensure consistency and even can inspire new ideas and menu items.”

The Sous Chef™ has found a wide range of use in the professional foodservice arena. Not just for schools and other formal education venues, the Sous Chef™ can effectively add value to any culinary training program – large or small, structured or casual. “You can increase your bottom line with the Sous Chef™,” said Wang.   

The system is currently in use at a range of restaurants, hotels, caterers, and even cruise ships. Institutional and non-profit users of the technology include hospitals, school kitchens, and the military.  Even the U.S. Air Force training school for Air Force One flight attendants has purchased the Sous Chef™.  Any size or type of facility that cooks and serves food can start or add to a culinary training system with the Sous Chef™.

Small independent operations (restaurants, caterers) use the Sous Chef™ for enhancement and advancement. Install the Sous Chef™ on a work computer and let employees learn new skills and ideas.

Larger kitchens are sometimes able to create “classrooms” as part of a lounge or employee area where individuals and small groups can view the Sous Chef™ on a large monitor or projector screen.

The training structure can be varied according to the needs of the operation.  Some companies offer individual, one-on-one training where the chef or a more experienced employee works with a trainee using the Sous Chef™ as a teaching tool.  Other companies organize groups of similar interests to work and learn together.

When not being used formally, the Sous Chef is available, with just the click of the mouse, to answer specific culinary questions or just to “browse” for a new idea or a specific kitchen technique to learn or review.

The pace of Sous Chef™ training can be adjusted to the unique requirements of the foodservice operation. Some trainers prefer a formal schedule with regular meeting times and a set curriculum. Other kitchens offer self-paced instruction with managers and employees setting goals and instruction periods as needed. 

Even the outcomes of using the Sous Chef™ can be varied according to the needs of the operation.

In smaller operations, the Sous Chef™ is a great resource and reference for informal cross-training and advancement.  According to one of our owners who uses the Sous Chef™ in his small restaurant, his “dishwashers can become line cooks” and “line cooks can become chefs” partly by using the Sous Chef™ to learn new skills and techniques.

In larger kitchens or multi-location operations, a formal organized system of competency training and testing can be established. This type of arrangement can easily be joined to a job classification and wage advancement structure.

This type of program gives your employees (and you) a clear set of guidelines for their career development. (KP Education Systems can help create such a system for your chain or large operation. Please see our Custom section for details.)

Whatever the size of your foodservice operation, the Sous Chef™ can be a valuable start, or addition to, your culinary training program.  Begin “Teaching With Technology” today.

Sous Chef from KP Systems To Be at Career and Tech Education Expo
Press Release 11-15-2005

Educators attending the annual Association of Career and Technical Educators (ACTE) Convention in December will be able to see demonstrations of the Sous Chef™, a complete multimedia, computer-based education resource designed to help students learn the culinary arts.

The newly released version 5 of the Sous Chef will be exhibited in Booth 1200 at the convention’s Career and Tech Expo.  The convention, with this year’s theme “Connecting Education and Careers,” will be held December 8-10 at the Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City, MO.

The Sous Chef is a state-of-the-art tool to increase teacher effectiveness, according to publisher KP Education Systems. 

“We are excited to be bringing our newest version of the system to one of the premier events for career and vocational administrators and teachers,” said Jim Murray, director of sales and marketing. “Vocational education is rapidly growing on the secondary, college, and adult level. This convention brings together the leaders and opinion makers in these fields.”

The Sous Chef designed to be used in place of, or as a supplement to, a text-based curriculum. It is a teaching tool that, instead of being printed, is based on Computer-DVD technology.

The unique advantage of the Sous Chef system is its use of high-quality video to teach culinary techniques and principles, explained Murray.

A traditional text uses one or more static photographs to demonstrate a skill like dicing an onion or making an omelet. The Sous Chef instead has a master chef/instructor demonstrating the same skill in a voice-over video. Over 250 instructional videos are contained in Version 5 of the Sous Chef. They cover everything from handwashing and knife skills to cooking techniques and advanced garde manger, he said.

The Sous Chef is not just videos, however. The program includes eleven chapters and over 850 “text” pages with words and pictures that can be viewed individually on the computer screen or shown through a projector or monitor to a large group. Schools that purchase or license the Education Edition of the Sous Chef are also permitted to print out these pages to use as student handouts and study aids.

The newly released Version 5 increases the content of the program by almost fifty percent from earlier editions, according to the company. “Due to the interest in and popularity of the Sous Chef™, we have spent almost a quarter million dollars enlarging and improving the program,” said Murray.

“Not only have we added material, but much of the original video and audio material has been remastered,” he added. “We have improved both content and quality.”

“This system can enhance, or even replace, traditional textbooks in high schools, colleges, and adult vocational schools and programs,” according to Dominic O’Neill, principal author and instructor for The Sous Chef™.  Chef O’Neill is Director of the Culinary Arts Program at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona.
The Sous Chef™ mixes classic culinary knowledge and techniques with the latest in e-learning (computer-based) technology, said Chef O’Neill.  

“The system is used just like a book. The program opens with a view of the title page; from there, you choose and click on a chapter.  Each chapter begins with an overview and a listing of competencies taught in that section. Then you either scroll through each “page’ in the section or use the complete index to find the exact lesson you are seeking.

“Imagine learning a specific kitchen job -- dicing an onion, preparing salad dressing, grilling a chop. Like any textbook, The Sous Chef™ will tell you how. Unlike any other text, however, The Sous Chef™ also shows you how,” he said.  “After reading about the process, click on a bar and I or another chef display the technique on video, demonstrating and explaining from beginning to end.”

The unique features and benefits of the Sous Chef system are why it is being exhibited at the ACTE Expo.

“The Sous Chef approach offers a number of advantages to both teacher and student,” said O’Neill. “Most importantly, it eliminates repetitive demonstrations. Students who miss a kitchen demonstration or need multiple viewings can watch a video as often as needed.”

While traditional culinary instruction is at the heart of the Sous Chef™ system, KP Systems believes they have taken a unique step forward in delivering that instruction.

“This multimedia approach is especially effective for many of today’s students of the ‘television generation,’” said Nai Wang, programming manager for the project.  “The program offers both audio and visual reinforcement of the text. It is especially helpful for those with lower literacy levels.”

The Sous Chef™can also be of special help in working with advanced students by giving them access to culinary topics and techniques that might not be applicable to everyone in a class.  Struggling students can benefit by seeing and hearing repetitive material and demonstrations that might not continue to engage the entire classroom.  The system also audiovisually reinforces the material those students have already been taught, Wang added.

“We believe we have a product that is both unique and ‘cutting-edge,’” Murray concluded. “I hope the leaders in the vocational education field who attend this convention will feel the same way.

Sous Chef™ Training System
Assists Online Classes

For Immediate Release Sept. 1, 2005
For information, contact Jim Murray, 800.701.6323 x 914

Online learning may not seem a likely vehicle for teaching the “hands on” art of cooking.  Using a multimedia program from KP Education Systems, however, a community college is trying to change that perception.

The Sous Chef™, a complete culinary arts teaching resource, forms the basis of a new program offered by Scottsdale Community College. “We wanted to give people who may not be able to attend or participate in a traditional program the chance to have a full culinary education,” said Chef Dominic O’Neill.

O’Neill, executive chef/instructor at the school and author, see this initial offering of the online course as the realization of one of his goals in creating the Sous Chef™ over six years ago. “Everyone says we can’t do it, but I say we can,” said O’Neill of the online cooking course.

Other culinary institutes have distance-learning programs, but not as extensive as Scottsdale’s, said Karen Chalmers, culinary arts program director at the school, quoted in the Arizona Republic.

“What makes this different is the text [used in the class] is the DVD that Chef Dominic put together,” she said.  “It really allows the student to be in the classroom without actually being there.”

Along with a knife kit and other kitchen tools, a computer and a digital camera are required supplies for the course. To show participation and progress, students will email photos of their work to instructors.

In cooking well, the process is more important than the finished product, says O’Neill, explaining the photo requirements. Documenting each step along the way in preparing an item or demonstrating a technique will be a strong emphasis of the course.

Unlike a printed textbook, the Sous Chef™ is a teaching tool based on computer-DVD technology.  The unique advantage of the system is its use of high-quality video to teach culinary techniques and principles.

A traditional text uses one or more static photographs to demonstrate a skill like dicing an onion or making an omelet. The Sous Chef™ instead has a master chef/instructor demonstrating the same skill in a voice-over video. Over 250 instructional videos are contained in the Sous Chef™. They cover everything from handwashing and knife skills to cooking techniques and advanced garde manger.

The Sous Chef™ is not just videos, however. The program includes eleven chapters and over 850 “text” pages with words and more than one thousand pictures, illustrations, charts, and diagrams. The pages can be viewed individually on the computer screen or shown through a projector or monitor to a large group.

For the Scottsdale program, the Sous Chef™is offered in a special online course edition. In addition, the Sous Chef™is offered in many other editions and configurations.  Customers include schools, individuals, restaurants, the military, healthcare, and other organizations that offer culinary training.

“While the online courses are one of our objectives, the primary idea behind the Sous Chef™has been to aid secondary and college-level instructors nationwide in teaching the culinary arts,” said Chef O’Neill.  “Over 300 schools across North America are currently using the system.”

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