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