Culinary Arts & Restaurant Management
Culinary Arts & Restaurant Management

The Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management Program prepares students for careers in one of the most dynamic and fast-growing industries. With strong demand across restaurants, hotels, catering, and food service operations, the program blends hands-on culinary training with real-world management skills.
Students develop a strong foundation in cooking techniques, food safety, and kitchen operations while also gaining experience in cost control, menu development, customer service, and leadership. With a focus on professionalism, efficiency, and industry relevance, graduates are prepared to enter the workforce with confidence or continue advancing within the hospitality field.
The course will provide an overview of the hospitality industry, its history and interrelationships of hotel, restaurant, travel, leisure industries, and introduce math concept applications in the culinary field. Students will also learn the importance of economic and social influences of leisure. Emphasis is on the attitude required of a person seeking a position in the industry.
In this course students will have the opportunity to apply introductory level culinary techniques as a component of the Oxnard College culinary education. Classical knife cuts and French classical cuisine techniques are the basis for daily instruction. Proper use of commercial equipment and scaling of measurement, formulas, and recipe create a solid foundation for job training. Competencies include stocks, mother sauces, soups, vegetable, grains, and egg cookery as well as chicken, fish, and beef sub-primal butchery.
This course provides laboratory experience for institutional food production. Students will receive an introduction and apply learned principles and procedures for basic food preparation with an emphasis on equipment, tools, and the proper utilization of time techniques.
This course provides advanced study and laboratory experience of food preparation management for the continuing student. Students will apply advanced knowledge in kitchen organization and supervision of food service workers emphasizing high production standards. Students will learn recipe standardization, portion control, and food service sanitation. Students will also receive experience in food service operations management.
Students will learn to identify and analyze the market potential for the style of catering business they are interested in developing, calculate menu pricing and how it correlates to competitive food service operators, and calculate operating costs, break-even points, and profit.
This course will introduce the student to the subject of meats and their application in foodservice operations, building a strong foundation that supports the principles to be learned in the cooking courses to follow. Through lectures, demonstrations, hands-on activities students will learn about the muscle and bone structure of beef, veal, pork, lamb, game, and poultry; fabrication methods for sub-primal and foodservice cuts; and proper tying and trussing methods. Students learn to prepare canapés, hot and cold hors d'oeuvre, appetizers, forcemeats, pâtés, galantines, terrines, salads, and sausages. Curing and smoking techniques for meat, seafood, and poultry items will be practiced, along with contemporary styles of presenting food and preparing buffets.
This course provides instruction in the preparation and/or use of pastries, pies, fillings, milk, starches, and leavening agents. Ratios and chemical reactions of ingredients are also stressed, as well as the effects of heat and refrigeration on products. Making of breads, rolls, Danish pastries, and puff pastries are demonstrated and practiced. After instruction, students calculate food cost and mark-up for retail sales of products.
This course focuses on concepts, procedures and techniques to produce plated desserts. The course emphasizes the preparation and assembly of finished desserts, tempering chocolate, sauce preparation, and garnishes.
This course will cover advanced cake decoration of single layer and multi-tier special event cakes. Making wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and quinceanera cakes will be covered. Multiple frosting types and techniques will be employed. Students mastering techniques taught in this course will be qualified for entry level cake decorating positions.
This course focuses on the sanitation and safety issues involved with handling food through the food service process as it applies to the restaurant and hospitality industry. The course will cover the prevention of contamination and food borne illnesses as well as their symptoms and treatment. Students will learn the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, the characteristics of a food-safe facility and how to establish systems that promote proper food handling and storage techniques. In addition, this course will cover the role of Health Department Sanitarians, sanitation regulations, cleaning and sanitizing equipment and facilities, integrated pest management, and training employees on sanitation standards. Employee safety, accident prevention, and crisis management in emergency situations will also be taught. This is a "ServSafe"certificate course.
This course will teach students techniques in various restaurant stations. The course will also cover a prix fixe menu style service, a buffet style service and demonstrations on butchery and molecular gastronomy. Additional techniques will be taught in modern restaurant trends.
This course focuses on nutrition as it relates to personal health, foods and food preparation. Students will learn menu planning and recipe modification, and marketing of food products for use in hotels, restaurants, and institutions. Students will also complete the nutrition competencies required by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
This course provides proper methods of service in all types of eating establishments from mom and pop operations to haute cuisine restaurants. A comprehensive presentation of what is needed to provide excellent service is also reviewed.
This course will study menus as the central theme that influences most foodservice function. The basic principles of menu making, including all phases of menu planning for today’s trends will be presented. Students will also study ways to control costs and create interesting menus for different types of establishments in the hospitality industry.
This course provides an overview of the analysis and management of food, beverage, labor and other costs within a hospitality operation. Students will learn problem solving and application of cost control techniques to maximize profits while managing expenses. The course also focuses on establishing standards, cost-volume-profit analysis, forecasting, purchasing and storage controls, menu costing and pricing, theft prevention and labor control.
This course gives students the foundation needed to make smart decisions in commercial and institutional food and beverage operations. Information concerning the latest operational trends is presented. Case studies developed by industry professionals give students practice solving problems like those experienced on the job. Internet exhibits and website addresses link students with valuable food and beverage resources.
This course covers all facets of bar and beverage products management including Mixology, wineries, breweries, balancing marketing and cost control, business planning, and employee management and training. Course also covers alcohol service responsibility, and essential information on a wide range of beverage products, including non-alcoholic beverages. This course is required for National Restaurant Management (NRA) Certification.
This course provides an in-depth look at proven marketing strategies specific to hospitality services. The course also demonstrates how hospitality organizations can promote their unique features and compete more effectively in the market.
This course covers all the essentials from understanding labels and varieties, to selecting complementary foods and wines. This course will cover most of the wine regions of the world to help train your palate in wine production techniques and regional differences for menu creation.
This course will provide an overview on Customer Service and focuses on the demands of customer service in our current systems. Student will learn methods to build, maintain and retain customer relationships.
This course covers all the essentials from understanding labels and varieties, to selecting complementary foods and wines from most regions within California. This course will cover most of the wine regions of California to help train your palate in wine production techniques and regional differences for menu creation.
This hands-on course introduces foundational baking techniques as part of Oxnard College’s baking and pastry program. Students will practice various categories of baking while using best practices, plan a successful baking schedule, learn to scale recipes, and use commercial kitchen equipment.
Introductory baking techniques for use in food service. Students will receive an introduction to the principles and procedures of baking and pastry. They will apply these principles with an emphasis on mixing methods, product identification, weights and measures, and proper use of tools and equipment.
A systematic approach to bread including details of mixing, fermenting, shaping, and baking bread. Covers baker's math, ingredient selection and function, how mixing affects fermentation, and other bread baking fundamentals. Includes prefermenters such as sourdoughs, and poolish as well as a variety of breads from lean to rich doughs.
This course is designed to familiarize the student with the production planning and execution of bakery operation principles of commercial foodservice operations. Students will practice quantity baking techniques, utilize equipment specific to bakery production, and gain an understanding of the management challenges in volume commercial bakery food services management.
This course will introduce students to barista practices and procedures as well as intermediate techniques for use in bakery-cafe food and beverage service. Students will apply techniques and learned principles and procedures of baking and pastry to focus on production associated with bakery and coffee service.
Work Experience Education provides supervised employment extending classroom occupational learning at an on-the-job learning station relating to the students’ educational or occupational goals. Each unit of credit requires 54 hours of employment during the semester. Work Experience Education is available to all students.