Academic Catalogs

CA A205: Culinary & Baking - Specialty Diets

Course Outline of Record
Item Value
Eff Term Fall 2026
Curriculum Committee Approval Date 10/29/2025
Top Code 130630 - Culinary Arts (CTE)
Units 2 Total Units 
Hours 90 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 9; Lab Hours 81)
Total Outside of Class Hours 18
Total Student Learning Hours 108
Course Credit Status Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee Yes
Basic Skills Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable No
Open Entry/Open Exit No
Grading Policy Standard Letter (S)

Course Description

This course will take the basic culinary/baking knowledge to the next level to achieve a goal of developing creative chefs that are adaptable to consumer health concerns. It will offer opportunities to understand the basic differences in dietary topics versus popular notions of nutrition, as well as consumer preferences in regard to personal, medical, or religious purposes. Students will examine ingredients and their functions with suggested ingredient replacements in recipes. Labs will offer hands-on exploration in modifying classical and modern dining food items. This course requires the ability to perform certain physical tasks. Students should be prepared to stand for extended periods of time and to carry or move equipment weighing up to 15 pounds PREREQUISITE: CA A120; CA A126 or concurrent enrollment; CA A149; and FN A140 or FN A170. Transfer Credit: CSU.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

  1. Identify trigger ingredients for medically identified, and personally preferred diets, while creating work solutions to satisfy consumers' needs.

Course Objectives

  • 1. Identify hidden gluten sources and proper substitution options in recipes.
  • 2. Identify vegan guidelines and how each food item's properties affect the end food product.
  • 3. Understand basic diabetic principles of carbohydrate counting and sugar substitutes.
  • 4. Explore and define religious caveats that affect food preparation and consumption.
  • 5. Describe the difference in medically sound diets vs. diets of choice or principle vs. fad diets.
  • 6. Determine and execute food preparation that adheres to medically sound diets, while establishing plant based alternatives
  • 7. Successfully prepare recipes providing alternatives for gluten-free, vegan, diabetic, and religious principles

Lecture Content

  1. Identify Current Health Problem
    1. Diabetes, Hepertension, Celiac Disease, Cardiovascular Disease
    2. Consumer Trends for Diets of Choice
  2. Why Gluten Free?
    1. Perception vs. Reality
      1. Celiac vs. Intollerance and Perceived Health Benefits
    2. Profit making and public demand
  3. Hidden Gluten Ingredients in Cooking
    1. Identify ingredients
    2. Identify substitutions
    3. Introduction of class project
  4. Vegan, Non-Dairy Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian Baking
    1. Identify subcategories as it pertains to baking recipes
  5. Vegan, Non-Diary Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian Cooking
    1. Identify subcategories as it pertains to cooking recipes
    2. Ingredients common to cooking that are known allergens crustaceans, fish, eggs, soy
  6. Class Project Defined
    1. Creating classification and identification book
  7. Midterm Written
  8. Allergens/Religious Baking
    1. Allergic vs. Food Sensitivity
    2. Dairy-free, Nut-free baking
    3. Identify other allergens common to baking
    4. Identify religious caveats
      1. alcohol, meat/dairy in Kosher applications
      2. alcohol, Halal, Mormon, 7th Day Adventists
    5. Identify ingredient substitutions for baking Kosher, Halal, Mormon, 7th Day Adventists
  9. Allergens/Religious Cooking
    1. Dairy free, Nut-free cooking
    2. Ingredients to be aware of crustaceans, fish, eggs, soy, alcohol
  10. Diabetic Baking
    1. Sugar reduction and carbohydrate counting
    2. Sugar substitutes
    3. Adverse reactions to substitutes
  11. Fad versus Legitimate Medical Cooking & Baking
    1. Keto, Paleo, or other lose weight quick diet
      1. Benefits and ca utions
    2. Mediterranean, DASH, MIND Diets
      1. Benefits and cautions
  12. Nutritious Baking/Whole Food Plant Based
    1. Unprocessed ingredients
    2. Plant-based
    3. Sugar reduction
  13. Nutritious Cooking/Whole Food Plant Based
    1. Reducing and eliminating fats
    2. Fat replacements
    3. Differences to vegan diets
  14. Written Final
  15. Course Wrap-up

Lab Content

  1. Introduction of Nutritious Cooking & Baking
    1. Learning to produce food in lab environment
    2. Practice sanitation and safety procedures for food production and clean up.
    3. Produce variation diet salads
  2. Gluten Free Baking 1
    1. Variation of basic baked goods
  3. Gluten-Free Baking 2
    1. Variation of advanced baked goods
  4. Gluten-Free Cooking
    1. Assortment of dishes which may include a variation of:
      1. Sandwiches & Soups
      2. Cooking "Meat" Substitutes Burger Substitutes
      3. Protein-Enhanced Recipes Tofu/Tempeh Solutions
  5. Allergen/Religious Baking
    1. Dairy and Nut Free Recipes
    2. Religious Desserts
  6. Midterm Practical
  7. Allergen/Religious Cooking
    1. Dairy, Nut, Crustacean, Fish, Egg Free Substitutions
    2. Religious Concerns
  8. Diabetic Baking/Reduced Sugar Baking
    1. No Sugar Added Dessert Recipes
  9. Fad Or Lose Weight Cooking
  10. Nutritious Baking/Mediterranean/DASH/MIND
  11. Nutritious Cooking/Mediterranean/DASH/MIND I
  12. Whole Food Plant Based Cooking/Desserts
    1. Unprocessed Ingredient Recipes
  13. Final Practical Preparation
  14. Final Practical

Method(s) of Instruction

  • Lecture (02)
  • Lab (04)

Instructional Techniques

Lecture - Video enhanced lectures covering weekly core subjects and terminology will be followed by small study group discussion Lab - Recipes that provide students with hands on applications of core subjects each week will then be evaluated at the end of each lab session.

Reading Assignments

Reading Assignments 0.5 hour a week

Writing Assignments

Written assignments totaling 5 hours.

Out-of-class Assignments

Class Project - Creating a reference guidebook identifying targeted health concerns, plus trigger ingredients for each medical and personal preference diets. This will include definitions of major medical conditions and ingredients and class notes of recipe results. Project Time 5 hours.

Study Non-Contact Hours Recommended

18

Methods of Student Evaluation

  • Midterm Exam
  • Final Exam
  • Written Assignments
  • Projects (Individual/Group)
  • Problem Solving Exercises
  • Skills Demonstration

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Students will be required to make adjustments to recipes to suit aweekly medical or personal preferrence diets. This will require them to be able to find the appropriate solution for any given dietary need.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

MidTerm and Final Written Exams will cover ingredient and disease terminology, as well as medical culinary needs based on  weekly subject matter. Midterm and Final Practical exams will demonstrate baking and cooking skill in adjusting a recipe for a given condition.

Eligible Disciplines

Culinary arts/food technology (food service, meat cutting, baking, waiter/w...: Any bachelor's degree and two years of professional experience, or any associate degree and six years of professional experience. Culinary arts/food technology (food service, meat cutting, baking, waiter/w...: Any bachelor's degree and two years of professional experience, or any associate degree and six years of professional experience.

Resources Subscreen

  • Textbook: Richard J. Coppedge. Baking for Special Diets. Wiley (2016).
  • Textbook: Powers, C. & Abbot Hess. Essentials of Nutrition for Chefs. Culinary Nutrition Publishing (2020).
  • Other: . . ().
  • Other: . . ().

Eligible Discipline(s)

  • Culinary arts/food technology (food service, meat cutting, baking, waiter/waitressing, bartending): Any bachelor’s degree and two years of professional experience, or any associate degree and six years of professional experience.