Leonardo Da Vinci Project “Professional Development through Moodle: A Look into the Past, Present and Future”
Cook is a job in which you decide on the nature and success of the catering facility. The evolution of the chef profession is a story of change - political, social and technological as well as the history of many far-sighted and chefs who contributed to defining the role of the modern chef by his actions, activities and publications. Chefs, in order to be successful, must be up to date with current trends and anticipate the future. But to look into the future, we have to look back very often. Knowledge of the past is of great value because it allows us to understand what changes did the profession do through as a chef and professional craftsman. The history of kitchen and eating resembles the history of modern civilization, where he the chefs played, without doubt, a significant role. Hunger was and is known to every animal - is related to instinct necessary for the preservation of life! Hunger is the instinct that from the beginning of the human life subjugated people's behavior and forced them to change and develop the forms of their co-existence in order to get food! Man, unlike the animals, in the eternal struggle for food and then fire - satisfied their nutritional needs, refining the form and manner of satisfying hunger at the same time. Experience in using the animal and vegetable intake as well as processing and fusing it, became a skill appreciated already in times of primitive peoples. The principles and standards of how to prepare and eat meals together with accompanying ceremony formed slowly The first mention of the chef in the history of the Western world appears in Marcus Apicius in the fourth century AD Apicius is the author of the oldest known cookbook in the world - Apicius de res Coquinaria. This book (actually a roll of parchment) is a real exception, given the time of its inception, and it is a great curiosity for contemporary chefs since it was written for professional cookers in the Roman Empire. Descriptions in the book provide a picture of the kitchen at the time. The form of satisfying hunger and eating culture itself have evolved over the centuries and today this technical and scientific knowledge helps us meet the nutritional needs in a rational and sophisticated. To compare and get the full picture of chefs’ daily lives in ancient times and today, one should take into account the physical conditions. Modern facilities, which now are considered to be the most natural in those days were gone. It should be of great importance to mention electricity, gasification or hydraulics. In ancient times there were no refrigerators, and they did not know such a concept as running water. Cooking was done over an open fire or heated by the furnace. Instead ventilation medieval kitchens were equipped with a roof built in the shape of the turret with a window through which the escaping heat, steam and smoke from the fires. The contemporary amenities, which are considered the most natural nowadays, were absent during that times. While the most basic equipment, such as a stove and refrigerator were known before, such small devices that are used in the kitchen were unknown. It's hard to imagine the preparation of meat stuffing without electric grinder or a sauce or soup without a blender. Soft cake and bake in the wood fired oven was rather reckless job. Even the absence of light was an obstacle. When dusk settled chef had to rely entirely on what gave light candles, torches, or at the end of the same fire, which was boiled. Even today, with access to modern equipment, you have to admit that a good quality meal preparation takes time, so you can imagine how much work is required before the cook. Contemporary knowledge about the impact of food on the development of the human body, nutrition and individual products developed based on the principles of nutrition, require from the cook to use this knowledge in their daily work during the preparation of meals. Out of the typical manual skills, the cook should have and absolutely implement in the daily work of the following areas of expertise: • Impact of technological processes to maintain the nutritional value of processed materials • Principles of health behavior, equipment and products • Skills aesthetic presentation of the dishes. He should present and be an example of: • Culture of personal, aesthetic and hygienic appearance • Responsibility for the quality of food in terms of health • teamwork skills • Sense of artistic and aesthetic sense of proportion and in serving dishes • continual improvement of their professional skills and knowledge • Knowledge of how to meet the needs of cooking different types of consumers. • bearing in mind that the work is assessed by three consumer senses - the sense of sight, sense of smell and sense of taste. The opportunity and ability of satisfying all three sensory culinary artistry is the measure of each chef. The cook must also remember that the effect of his work has a big impact on the health and even the life of the consumer!. Disregarding the hygiene and tolerating failures in the work of other members of the kitchen staff, eliminate chefs from professionals and classify them into dangerous group of ignorant people – where there is no place for such people! The opinion about the quality of the work place is made by the people with low professional skills of the staff kitchen and hall. Therefore, it is necessary to continue professional education of the staff and eliminate irresponsible, problematic or unfair people