Certificate IV in Kitchen Management

The SIT40521 Certificate IV in Kitchen Management at Victorian College of Education Australia (VCEA) provides the skills and knowledge for an individual to become competent as a qualified commercial chef who uses a wide range of cookery skills. On completion, students have a sound knowledge of kitchen operations together with a supervisory or team-leading role in the kitchen; they operate independently or with limited guidance from others and use discretion to solve non-routine problems. The qualification requires 33 units in total — 27 core units and 6 electives. Alongside the full range of cookery units covering food safety, food preparation equipment, basic cookery methods, appetisers and salads, stocks, sauces and soups, poultry, seafood and meat dishes, vegetarian and vegan dishes, cakes, pastries, breads and desserts, students develop management capability: designing and costing menus, planning cooking operations, developing recipes for special dietary requirements, managing conflict, managing finances within a budget, leading and managing people, rostering staff, monitoring work operations, enhancing customer service experiences, implementing and monitoring work health and safety practices and developing a food safety program.

Training is conducted in the classroom and in commercial kitchen settings that simulate a real work environment, including face-to-face teaching, lectures, discussions, research, learning activities, group work and supervised practical sessions, with assessment by written assignments and project work, case studies and practical demonstration. Students complete 200 hours of work-based training. The full course runs 92 weeks full time including holidays and orientation; students who have completed the SIT30821 Certificate III in Commercial Cookery at VCEA need study only 34 weeks. It is delivered at the Queen Street campus in Melbourne with practical sessions at the VCEA Kitchen in West Melbourne. Tuition is $26,900, plus a $450 non-refundable enrolment fee, a $2,500 materials fee and $400 for a chef uniform and knife kit. Graduates can progress to the Diploma of Hospitality Management.