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ProChef®1 | Content | Lobster Ink

Consistency and mastery starts with ProChef® 1

The ProChef® 1 certification program is a respected culinary qualification, with rich content created by the world's premier culinary college, The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Lobster Ink’s expertise in technology-enhanced learning has taken the CIA’s ProChef® 1 curriculum to the next level, catering to the always-on lives of modern chefs with interactive, on-the-job training.

Learn the “why” behind the “how” with ProChef® 1, explore basic food science principles, dive deep into the detail of mastering essential skills and learn secrets from the CIA’s seasoned veterans through practical ProTips. Complete the form to receive more information on the ProChef® 1 solution best suited to your unique training requirements.

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Culinary training to bolster your team’s performance

ProChef® 1 teaches culinary fundamentals through 20 comprehensive courses comprised of 157 engaging and interactive lessons. Its flexible, modular design can accommodate your unique training requirements across multiple teams. Select the courses most relevant to your establishment or contact us about a custom training solution.

Preview to ProChef® 1, a Learning Path featuring a selection of 3 courses, will give learners a taste of what they can expect from the complete ProChef® 1 program.

Discover the complete digital culinary apprenticeship

Created in collaboration with the world's premier culinary college, ProChef® 1 forms part of Lobster Ink’s full culinary digital training solution. Find out more about the other digital training programs available in this category, Baking & Pastry and Plant-Forward Kitchen.

A sample from ProChef® 1

Lobster Ink’s proprietary learning methodology, combined with the CIA’s 60+ years of experience, delivers a quintessential online culinary school experience.

157 lessons, 20 courses, 7 purpose-built learning paths.

Food and Kitchen Safety - Awareness

A serious kitchen accident or outbreak of foodborne illness can ruin reputations and end careers. Come to grips with kitchen safety measures with our food and kitchen safety awareness training course.

Lessons: 8

Food and Kitchen Safety - Prevention

Ensuring optimal safety and hygiene standards is vital for every professional chef. Follow the food safety guidelines and train your team on the practices, rules and procedures involved when implementing food safety standards.

Lessons: 10

Nutrition Fundamentals

The best chefs not only make delicious food, they also understand its nutritional importance. Study the fundamentals of nutrition, and learn more about proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in food.

Lessons: 7

Culinary Measures, Weights, Yields and Ratios

Converting recipes from metric to imperial measurements, or vice versa, can be tricky. Learn all about measurement and weight conversion, ratios in cooking and how to modify recipes depending on the guest amount.

Lessons: 3

Basic Food Science Principles

Cooking is chemistry and, to cook well, chefs need to understand the principles of food science. This introduction to food science course offers an overview of the six basic principles of food science and how to use them.

Lessons: 6

The Kitchen Family Tree

Things can get pretty heated in a commercial kitchen, and without proper coordination it simply cannot function. Learn about the Kitchen Brigade system and the roles and responsibilities within the kitchen hierarchy.

Lessons: 2

Knife Skills

There is no such thing as a good chef with clumsy knife skills. Knowing how to handle, maintain and use different types of knives is crucial. Learn how to chop, slice and cut like a pro with this kitchen knife skills course.

Lessons: 7

Cooking Techniques Part 1

If crispy-skinned roast chicken, seared meat, or crunchy fries are on the menu, your team needs to know how to master dry cooking methods. Learn about the benefits of dry heat cooking and get to know its most common techniques.

Lessons: 7

Cooking Techniques Part 2

What is moist heat cooking? It’s the process of preparing flavorful dishes using moist cooking methods, such as poaching, braising, stewing and en papillote. Learn about these methods and the benefits of moist heat cooking in this course.

Lessons: 6

Stock Production

A well-prepared stock can make any meal sing. Know more about the foundation of stocks and fumet, the mise en place of stocks and how to prepare a high-quality stock.

Lessons: 9

Sauce Production

The sauce production course teaches sauce making basics with a special focus on the grand sauces. Knowing how to prepare different types of roux creates a solid foundation for the preparation of mother sauces.

Lessons: 11

Soup Production

When soup is made well, it shows a chef’s skill and knowledge. This soup course takes learners through the theory of soup and how to prepare various kinds of soup, including consommé, broth, cream soup, bisque and purée soup.

Lessons: 13

Egg Cookery

One does not simply cook an egg. Learn how to cook eggs with the skill, precision and respect this pantry staple deserves. Learners will also have access to our tried and tested breakfast eggs recipes.

Lessons: 9

Vegetable Cookery

This vegetable cookery course teaches the basics of identifying, preparing and cooking vegetables to best preserve color and create appetizing textures.

Lessons: 15

Potatoes

Everyone can make potatoes, but preparing potatoes like a professional chef takes skill. Learn about the components of a potato, how to define different types of potatoes and the best way to cook potatoes.

Lessons: 11

Pasta

Our pasta making course will teach learners how to make, roll, cook, serve and garnish pasta. Your team will also learn how to cook filled and unfilled pasta, and how to attractively plate pasta. Bon appétit!

Lessons: 6

Grains

Grains’ relevance stretches far beyond the cereal section. For a start, they form the basis of the world’s diet. Knowing how to cook grains will take your team one step closer to mastering the foundations of cooking.

Lessons: 5

Dried Legumes

Legumes are so useful as a food staple that they’ve been grown and harvested for thousands of years. This course teaches the theory and method for soaking and cooking dried legumes, including chickpeas and black beans.

Lessons: 4

Rice

Rice is the oldest known food still widely consumed today. This course introduces learners to rice theory, the different types of rice and how to make rice pilaf, risotto, and steamed rice.

Lessons: 4

Salads, vinaigrettes and dressings

Fresh, delicate and healthy, the perfect salad is so much more than a pile of lettuce. Learn how to prepare salad, creamy dressings and vinaigrette, and become an expert in balancing textures and flavors in salads.

Lessons: 14

Active participation through interactive lessons

Learn. Apply. Revisit. The Lobster Ink platform is core to the CIA’s ProChef® 1 learning experience. 60 interactive lessons, placed at key points during the course, engage and challenge learners to apply what they’ve learned in a fail-safe environment. Different interactive formats, such as dialogue and hotspots are mapped to specific learning objectives. This provides aspiring chefs with the ideal opportunity to practice procedure-based learning while applying it in the kitchen.