The Business of Food

Students will have the opportunity to select an elective made up of TWO six-month courses:

• Food and Cooking
• The Business of Food

Each course will be taught by specialist staff in those areas. The order in which the boys do the courses over a year will be determined by timetabling priorities.

Note: Students who complete the Hospitality Combination cannot enrol in Business as their second elective.

Students will explore food-related issues through a range of practical experiences, allowing them to make informed and appropriate choices with regards to food. The course will provide students with a broad knowledge and understanding of food properties, processing, preparation and their interrelationships and nutritional considerations.

The course will address the importance of hygiene and safe working practices in the production of food and provide students with a context through which to explore the richness, pleasure and variety food adds to life.

Students develop practical skills in preparing and presenting food that will enable them to select and use appropriate ingredients, methods and equipment. The course is a combination of practical work and building an understanding of the practices associated with food preparation. During the semester, they will prepare and cook a range of meals based on using a variety of ingredients. Half of the lessons will be in the College’s teaching kitchen.

At the end of each cooking unit the students will be able to design, prepare and cook meals for themselves and their peers.

Students will take a hands-on approach to understanding the skills and the issues involved in running and managing an enterprise, with a specific focus on the Hospitality Industry in Australia. The course will cover a broad range of business concepts, and asks students to put themselves in the position of someone who manages and makes decisions in a food-oriented business.

Over a semester, the course will cover a range of areas such as:

• Business planning
• Marketing and advertising
• Business structures
• Financial management
• The structure of the hospitality and tourism industries in Australia
• Business and the law

A key component will be running a simulated class-based business at school, and developing a product to market and sell to the student body.