EIT is launching an advanced plant-based cookery programme next year to teach skills that meet the growing demand for vegan, vegetarian and plant-based restaurants and products.
The EIT Certificate in Plant-based Complex Cooking [Level 4] will focus on crafting excellent, complex dishes solely from plants, providing an advanced repertoire of product knowledge, skills and recipes.
The part-time programme runs for 25 weeks from Wednesday, 11 May 2022 to Wednesday, 16 November 2022. It will be taught on EIT’s Hawke’s Bay Campus from 5.00pm – 9.00pm, every Wednesday (except during term breaks).
EIT School of Tourism and Hospitality Chef Tutor Earl Zapf, who currently teaches the popular plant-based Level 3 programme and has designed this one as well, says Level 4 will be a more in depth look at plant-based cooking.
“We will be going deeper into subjects than level 3 and will be teaching students advanced methods and techniques, rather than the basics. We will look at fermentation and preservation techniques, we will make cheese and they will also learn foraging and the use of native ingredients among other things.”
Earl says the new programme next year follows on from the successful implementation of the Level 3 Certificate in Plant-Based Cooking.
“It’s a continuum of the level 3 basically and that has been really good. There were two streams this year and now many of those students will be able to carry on with our new programme.”
“At the end of the day, it’s about a gentle nudging towards a more sustainable way of nourishing ourselves,” says Earl.
He says the programme will enhance the capability of staff in local cafés and restaurants and interested members of the community as they work through edible plant preparation, complex cooking techniques, plant-based menus and nutritional features of plants.
Glenn Fulcher, the Head of School for EIT’s School of Tourism and Hospitality, says the new programme is being launched to cater for the changing needs of the local industry.
“Many people are moving to more of a plant-based diet and this programme will provide those in the industry with the skills to offer a variety of meat-free dishes.”
For more details about the Certificate in Plant-based Complex Cooking [Level 4], visit eit.ac.nz.