UK & Ireland Study Courses
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Junior Chefs Academy
by sandra101 - - What is it - - The Junior Chefs' Academy is a government initiative which was started to try and interest young people in catering as there is a lack of trainee chefs wanting to pursue a career in the food industry. I have to admit that having watched celebrity chefs on television shouting, effing and blinding at their ... junior chefs I can see why not very many kids would aim to work in that atmosphere. The junior chefs take part in hands on cookery while developing a knowledge of nutrition,and an understanding of hygiene and health and safety. On the last Saturday the junior chefs get to cook their last meal and serve it up to their family in the College restaurant in the presence of a celebrity chef (oohh I really hope it's one of the tasty ones, Phil Vicery would be nice). As soon as the flyer came around in work I knew my eleven year old son would love to attend, as soon as he arrived in from school I showed it to him. He begged to go citing his brother getting drum lessons and he being a poor hard done by child who never got anything. He presently claims he wants to be an engineer when he leaves school but thinks he might be a chef at the weekends (the joys of being young and thinking you can do everything). The course is open to youngsters from 12 - 16, as his birthday is before the course ends I checked if he would still be eligible and was relieved when he was. The teacher did tell me that next year they are going to raise the age to 13 as that is when children begin to choose their gcses and plan what they want to be. While talking to the teacher who was organizing the course I asked for confirmation that it wasn't going to be 10 weeks of fairy cakes and rice crispie buns with hours of health and safety as he would have been bored to tears. She looked a little shocked at me even thinking this and told me that the teacher was previously a head chef at the 5 star Culloden Hotel and would be expecting a lot more than that. - - How does it work - - I took him upto the kitchens on the first morning and looking around the split was about 70% male to female and by the looks of them all the relevant ages were represented. He was presented with a white chefs coat, apron and hat and was set to work within minutes of the adults leaving. As I went to pick him up it was a pleasure to walk into the kitchens, every child was beaming with pride and holding little silver boxes and foil packages in their arms. The teacher had included health and safety advice about cooking with chicken and how to dice an onion but as they worked rather than setting them down and lecturing them. The first week he arrived home with a large dish of chicken and cannelloni bean soup and a foccacia soda bread. Both were delicious and eating while looking at his still beaming face I knew this was great idea. The next week was pork and apple burgers and pan fried potatoes and the most gorgeous banana bread that I have ever tasted. This was followed a week later by macaroni a la boom boom and chocolate brownies. Next was chicken thighs in a honey sauce where he learned to debone a chicken thigh something I certainly would not have been able to teach him. Although young in age the teacher treated them with respect and instead of the usual health and safety gone mad stuff you read about in the papers they were encouraged to use sharp knives etc. but shown how to use them properly. In fact after the first lesson he came home to tell me off as apparently I've been dicing onions incorrectly and he then proceeded to show me the proper way to do it. Although I applaud this initiative I believe it should be targeted at all children rather than those who wish to go into the industry. The whole obesity epidemic and families surviving on ready meals needs to be redressed and teaching basic cookery to this age group could mean a turn around in society as a whole for the next generation. My sons do have domestic science at school but it is predominantly theory and is more along the lines of fairy cakes and filling shop bought bagels I don't believe this is enough to give the next generation a good basic understanding of pulling together a meal from scratch. - - Why is it a worthwhile idea - - There are so many reasons why courses like this are such a great idea. Kids are learning to cook real food They are taught how to use sharp tools properly It encourages them to try foods they wouldn't get at home Its better than sitting on the playstation for 3 hours on a Saturday morning. Its also been good for us as a family. I'm quite a plain cook and as I don't like garlic I don't put it in family meals. Since starting this course he now knows what a garlic bulb looks like and how to use it, and what a chilli looks like foodstuffs which I hadn't kept in the house. He now also knows to be careful when cutting a chilli as it stings like hell if you get it in your eye. Some might say ohhh sounds dangerous giving young people knives or letting them get chilli in their eyes but I think its time to bring back a little bit of danger to their lives otherwise if we wrap them up in cotton wool how the heck are they supposed to survive in the big bad world. Bringing home the lovely dishes means that my other son and daughter have now tasted macaroni a la boom boom, a lovely dish which includes cream, cheese and chillies. Fresh pork and apple burgers with chilli flakes, freshly baked banana bread, italian meatballs etc. The tasty food he is bringing home has also inspired me to experiment a little more and my cupboards are now stocked with tomato puree, garlic puree, chilli powder and about 6 bottles of various herbs and spices which I am now adding to my own cooking. - - The Course - - The programme originated in England and has now been launched in six Colleges in Northern Ireland and because it is sponsored by People first, the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Safefood, Compass Group, City and Guilds and the Institute of Hospitality it means that the full course is available for £50.00 which is enough to cover the cost of the ingredients rather than the instruction. The course itself lasts for ten weeks and is held on a Saturday morning for three hours. I can see that this time suits the College as the kitchens are not being used and the kids as they are at school every other day but I did hear complaints from a number of people whose children would love to have attended but who play sports on a Saturday morning so it would be lovely if they vary the time on future academies. - - Recommendation - - I can't recommend this highly enough and would urge anyone with teenagers to look out for advertisements that this is being held in their area. This recommendation hasn't been influenced at all by the fact that next week he's bringing home melt in the middle chocolate puddings, actually it probably has, my tongue is hanging out even at the thought of it. I've added his photo as my pic just to show how cute he looks in his chefs whites. I would add that he has realised that being able to cook does go a long way with the girls and intends to take full advantage of this, but hopefully not for a few years. Read the complete review |
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Courses in General
by mizzy I am studying music at Leeds University. The course offers a wide range of topics that you can choose from each year. There are several versions of the course. BA music, BApopular and world Musics, Bmus performance with year abroad, Mmus, PHD and music technology. You can also study music as a joint honour with loads of other things ... including languages. In first year you do a mixture of study skills, practical, performance and history of music. In second year you can branch out and specialise in texts and contexts. Some of the topics offered were Elgar, African music and Bach. The lecturers make the topics so interesting especially the world side as they have done a lot of field work and travelling. They have also written loads of books that help you with the course. I really love the BA popular and world course and this is what I shall hopefully be graduating with. I recommend this course to all musicians who love performance, world music, popular studies and love to meet other musicians. Read the complete review |
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English at Cardiff University
by knowlesra Seeing as the last review of English at Cardiff University is a little more than out of date I thought I would describe my experiences for any budding literature undergrads out there. Cardiff prides itself on the large amount of diversity and choice it offers, giving its students the oppourtunity to tailor their degree either towards ... their own interests or to cover a wide amount of genres and periods. The wide bredth of potential modules however, are not accessable until year two as everyone in the first year follows the same English Literature pathway. As a memer of the arts and social studies schools, you will be asked as you arrive as a bright faced fresher, to select to additional subjects that you will pursue in your first year along side English. The University provides a lot of literature on making appropriate choices but essentially the subjects you choose are left up to you. A wide range of subjects are availiable but is important to consider your choices carfeully for a number of reasons. Firstly, you will be spending a third of your academic time in the first year on this subject, secondly, the subjects you chose can have an impact on your later degree. Indeed, English Literature students are given the oppourtunity in years 2 and 3 to take up to 20 credits from the school of cultural criticism, provided they took it as a subsidary subject in year one. This includes modules such as Slavery narratives, History of Conduct, Queer Therory and Derridian Deconstruction so is definitely worth considering. Another popular option is Medieval and Renaissance Literature, giving you good foundations for later medieval modules. Just 40 credits of your first year (out of a total 120 needed to advance to second year) will be taken in English Literature and for these you will take four modules. These modules offer the basic foundations for your degree and include things such as poetry, colonial narratives and reading novels to write essays. The modules are just a slight step up from A Level but are essential to bringing everyone up to a similar level of understanding and to help you learn about the school's essay writing guidelines and rules. All 10 credit modules are assessed by either a 1600 word essay or a one and a half hour exam and whilst this may not sound a lot individually, having six essays in on one day can be a little bit daunting! Luckily, the academic staff are helpful and offer office hours every week for students with questions or problems. The English Literature department itself ranks as one of the best in the country. For research it is 5* and ranks well for teaching. One criticism often levelled against Cardiff however, is regarding its student to staff ratio. There does seem to be something of a 'cram as many in as possible' attitude and you may end up sharing your classes with upwards of 150 students which isn't very conducive to in depth discussion. Many modules however, offer seminars and the oppourtunity to discuss in small groups things of particular interest. Year two is where the real choice and interst begins. The range of modules is huge and currently encompasses the traditional modules such as Gothic Fiction, Contemporary Women's Writing, literary Modernism and Shakespeare but also has a massive range of diverse modules including Old Norse studies, Magical Realism, Literature and Science, Myth and Modernism and The Robin Hood Tradition. There is such a choice that you can pursure almost any area of literature you want and if there isn't the particular module running that year, the option is availiable to take 10 credits as your own independant research essay into a topic of your choice. The department boasts a host of critical talent including world famous medieval critics Stephen Knight and Helen Phillips and renowned contemporary feminist critic Rebecca Munford. Access to these respected critics is as easy as signing your name outside there door and they are always welcoming to students who wish to discuss or debate a topic with them. Overall, Cardiff stands out because of its choice and academic standing, giving students the oppourtunity to really spacialise or take a more general degree. And last but not least, the dissertation is optional, you can either submit yourself to months of hell or not. The degree is well resepected and will give you the grounding to go into many areas of employment or further study. Read the complete review |
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