Version 5 Press Release

Culinary instructors now have a state-of-the-art resource to increase their teaching effectiveness, according to KP Culinary Educational Systems.  KP has just released Version 5 of The Sous Chef™, a complete multimedia, computer-based education package designed to help high school and college students learn cooking skills and techniques.

The new version 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 KP executive producer Mike Murray.

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

“This system can enhance, or even replace, traditional textbook-based curricula in high schools, colleges and 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. After reading about the process, click on a bar and O’Neill or another 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,” 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.”
The Sous Chef also contains 850 text pages with more than 1000 full color photos, illustrations, and diagrams.  KP producer Mike Murray 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 Murray.  ”It is designed to offer “in the classroom” support to instructors who have a broad spectrum of experience and culinary skills.  One of our users said, ‘You make chefs better teachers…and you make teachers better chefs.’”

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 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.