When we surveyed Family and Consumer Science (FCS) instructors about issues in their classes, they indicated that helping students understand basic cooking math was a huge need. As a solution, we created the Culinary Math Training Kit to reinforce foundational math concepts and introduce students to basic cooking math. Here’s how it works.
Prepares Students for Culinary Careers
This training kit can prepare students for a variety of culinary careers, making it a great addition to any culinary pathway. Cooks, bakers, food production managers, restaurant owners… they all use cooking math skills. This kit can help train students for those occupations and many others.
Offers a Variety of Teaching Options
The Culinary Math Training Kit comes with a six-lesson curriculum in both print and online formats. This gives you a few options to choose from when deciding how you want to teach this topic. You can teach everything in person, completely online, or a mix of both. The curriculum covers everything from basics, such as fractions and decimals, to specific cooking math, like calculating food costs and using kitchen measuring tools.
Completing the full curriculum from start to finish would take seven to eight hours, but you can pick and choose which lessons and activities work best for your program. It includes presentation slides, detailed steps of activities, and time and materials needed.
Allows for Independent, Self-Paced Learning
Students can learn all about cooking math independently with the online lessons. These lessons feature digital flashcards, videos, practice questions, and more to keep students engaged as they learn. The lessons keep track of student progress, making it easy for them return to their studies after taking breaks.
Provides Hands-On Application Activities
Once students learn the material either in class or online, it’s time to apply their knowledge with the student workbook activities. The workbooks include quizzes, practice problems, and fun facts about cooking math. View our student workbook sample for a closer look.
Addresses an Array of Learning Objectives
This kit helps teach a basic math review as well as cooking math. The first three lessons refresh students’ memory on general math concepts they’ll use in culinary math. The last three cover math topics specific to cooking math. Here is a breakdown of the lessons and their learning objectives:
- Fractions, Decimals, Ratios, and Percentages
- Add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions and decimals
- Round decimals
- Convert fractions, decimals, ratios, and percentages
- Calculate using the ratio/proportion method
- Measurement Systems
- Calculate between measurements in the metric system
- Convert apothecary and household measurements
- Calculate time using standard and military time
- Conversions
- Convert between U.S. customary and metric length and temperature measurements
- Convert between household and metric volume and weight measurements
- Calculating Food Costs
- Calculate the unit costs of food items
- Understand as purchased and edible portion in determining costs
- Calculate Baker’s Batch Costing
- Calculate raw food cost of recipes and the cost per serving
- Calculate menu prices using the food cost percentage method
- Kitchen Measuring Tools
- Identify the standard units and tools for measuring and weighing
- Convert measurements in a recipe to change the yield
- Converting Standardized Recipes
- Determine conversion factor to change yield of a recipe
- Convert a recipe from smaller yield to larger yield
- Convert a recipe from larger yield to smaller yield
- Use culinary ratios (weight, volume, mixed methods)
- Understand baker’s percentage and baker’s math
For a closer look at our curriculum, check out our curriculum sample. You can also unlock a free trial of the program here.
Learn More
Looking for more information on culinary learning aids? Consider these resources:
- Magnetic Models Sets Teach Butcher’s Cuts Without the Mess
- 6 Tips for Teaching Culinary Math in Your FCS Classroom
- Our webinar, “Teaching Math in Your Culinary Program”