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4-week chef-led course

Classes start Sep 14 Sign up by Sep 10
Bowl of sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, and chickpeas garnished with parsley
Classes start Sep 14 Sign up by Sep 10

Plant-Based
Pro Essentials

Build a strong foundation in plant-based cooking.

Create flavorful stocks, sauces, soups, stews, salads, and cold sauces using plant-based ingredients. Practice essential techniques such as roasting, grilling, sautéing, and moist-heat cooking. Then bring it all together with vegetables, grains, legumes, tofu, tempeh, and seitan.

Jump to Course Details
  • 4 weeks
  • Chef-led, live online sessions
  • ~4–5 hours / week
  • Certificate of Completion*

Skills this course can help you build

  • Chef-led instincts for plant-based flavor and texture.
  • Build deep flavor with plant-based stocks and sauces.
  • Guided practice adapting classical methods for vegetables.
  • Cook grains, beans, tofu, and other alternative proteins.
  • Techniques for composing balanced, plant-based plates.
  • Earn a Certificate of Completion.*

*Completion of Essentials Courses does not constitute academic credit, nor will they qualify for transfer of academic credit in any academic program or course offered by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts under the terms of the school's licensing or accredited programs.

Four weeks, one foundation

The 4-week curriculum

  1. Week 01: Plant-Based Stocks, Sauces, Soups, and Stews

    • Stocks — Vegetable Stock, Mushroom Stock, and Plant-Based Dashi
    • Sauces — Plant-Based Béchamel, Tomato, and Velouté
    • Soups — Clear, Purée, Nut-Based Cream, and Cold
    • Stews
  2. Week 02: Plant-Based Garde Manger

    • Salads — Green, Bound, and Composed
    • Cold Sauces — Mayo and Vinaigrette
  3. Week 03: Plant-Based Cooking Methods

    • Effects of Heat — Coagulation, Caramelization, and Gelatinization
    • Dry Heat Techniques — Roast, Grill, Sauté, and Fry
    • Moist Heat and Combination Cooking Techniques
  4. Week 04: Building the Plant-Based Plate

    • Vegetable Cookery — Pigments
    • Starch Cookery — Grains, Rice, and Pasta
    • Beans and Legumes — Cookery and Purée
    • Tofu, Tempeh, and Seitan

    Quiz and Certificate of Completion

Vegetable stir-fry with broccoli, snow peas, carrots and peppers

This Plant-Based Pro Essentials
Course Starts September 14

Developing a plant-based chef’s mindset

The plan to get you thinking more like a plant-based chef

  • Weekly live online sessions Recordings available if you can’t attend.
  • Interactive lessons Video demos & explainers.
  • Recipes & charts Downloadable, printable PDFs.
  • Interactive diagrams Learning tools, not just video.
  • Two people browsing dish photos on a phone Knowledge checks Practice as you go.
  • Faculty messaging Ask Escoffier faculty directly.
  • Learn from almost anywhere Mobile-friendly, flexible schedule.
  • Certificate of Completion* Escoffier Pro Essentials credential, earned via final assessment.

*Completion of Essentials Courses does not constitute academic credit, nor will they qualify for transfer of academic credit in any academic program or course offered by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts under the terms of the school's licensing or accredited programs.

Live online sessions with Escoffier faculty

Chef Luke Shaffer, Escoffier chef instructor

Live online sessions with Escoffier faculty

Explore a chef’s approach, live.

Each course includes one weekly live session led by an Escoffier Chef Instructor or faculty member. Sessions are tied to that week’s course content and may include Q&A, demonstration, coaching, or guided technique discussion depending on the topic. Recordings are posted to the course page after the session.

This Plant-Based Pro Essentials
Course Starts September 14

How the course works

Structured, but on your schedule

  1. Join a class Your course starts on a set date, with a real beginning and end.
  2. Learn each week Work through the week’s lessons whenever it suits you.
  3. Join live online sessions Join the weekly live session or catch the recording if you miss it.
  4. Earn your certificate of completion Finish with a short assessment and earn your Certificate of Completion.*

*Completion of Essentials Courses does not constitute academic credit, nor will they qualify for transfer of academic credit in any academic program or course offered by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts under the terms of the school's licensing or accredited programs.

Your credential

Finish with a Certificate of Completion.

Pass the final assessment and earn a Certificate of Completion* — a shareable mark of the work you put in.

  • Awarded on passing the final assessment
  • Recognizes four weeks of chef-led training
  • Shareable on LinkedIn and your résumé

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts

Continuing Education

Certificate of Completion

This certifies that

has completed Plant-Based Pro Essentials, a four-week chef-led course.

Final assessment passed

*Completion of Essentials Courses does not constitute academic credit, nor will they qualify for transfer of academic credit in any academic program or course offered by Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts under the terms of the school's licensing or accredited programs.

Questions about this course

No. Plant-Based Pro Essentials starts from foundations and is built for beginner-to-intermediate home cooks. You bring the curiosity; your chef brings the method.

This Plant-Based Pro Essentials
Course Starts September 14

Four weeks from now, your plant-based skills could be next-level.

Reserve Your Seat
Students from ,
Earn a degree or diploma from the largest culinary school brand in the U.S.!*

Find all the resources you need to begin your culinary journey at Escoffier.

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*Based on comparable student population data for Austin and Boulder as currently reported in Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
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