Seasonal Plant-Based Cuisine

No. Seasonal Plant-Based Cuisine is a plant-based cooking course rather than a strictly vegan one. The focus is on cooking with seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs—how to source them, store them, and prepare them using a range of culinary techniques. Many of the methods taught in the course can apply to vegan cooking, but the course is built around seasonal, plant-forward cuisine rather than vegan standards or certification.

The course covers a range of savory seasonal dishes, which may include salads, soups and chowders, quiches, galettes, pickled vegetables, preserves, and more. Because the focus of the course is on plant-based techniques and seasonal ingredient knowledge, you may be able to apply these principles to other ingredients and dishes as well.

The course runs for 6 weeks for a total of 60 hours, which includes 20 lecture hours and 40 lab hours. Upon successful completion, you can earn 4 quarter credit hours that you can request to apply toward a plant-based degree or diploma program at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts.

No prior culinary experience is required. The course is designed for students of all skill levels and aims to build foundational knowledge in seasonal sourcing, plant-based cooking techniques, and Farm to Table® practices from the ground up.

Upon successful completion of the course, including meeting all grading requirements, you will receive a certificate of completion recognizing your achievement.

This is a hands-on, on-campus course at Escoffier’s Boulder campus. You’ll have the opportunity to spend much of your time in the lab preparing seasonal plant-based dishes—sourcing and prepping produce, executing recipes, taking production notes, plating, and cleaning down your station. Lab work is supplemented by classroom instruction, discussions, and assignments on topics like seasonal harvests, nutrition, sustainability, and Farm to Table sourcing.

All ingredients and kitchen tools needed for the course are included in your course cost and provided on campus. As part of your course cost, you’ll receive a school-issued uniform to wear to class each day, including a jacket, apron, and skull cap.

You’ll also be provided with an instant-read thermometer, a permanent black marker, and a pen to keep in the pocket on the left arm of the chef jacket, plus a spiral-bound notebook to carry in your pocket.

You’ll need to come to class with black pants; your choice of socks; closed-toe black, non-skid-sole shoes (no sneakers); and a white undershirt (no logos or prints)—these items aren’t included in your course cost.

Grades in this course are determined by two main components: daily participation, which accounts for 70% of your grade, and exams, which make up the remaining 30%. Graded activities are weighted and accumulate as you progress through the course. The course will be offered as “Pass” or “No Pass” with an option to “Audit” for no course credit. The threshold for passing will be an average overall course grade of 70% or above.

Yes, you can request to apply the credits from this course towards the Plant-Based Culinary Arts degree and diploma programs at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, which can be a great option for those interested in a plant-based culinary program.