Lifelong Learning Programs

Contact

Metropolitan College Lifelong Learning
808 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
617-353-9852
Fax: 617-353-4130
cularts@bu.edu
www.bu.edu/foodandwine

NOTE: This site is an archive of 2012–2013 programs and policies at Boston University Metropolitan College. If you are looking for current information about Metropolitan College and its programs, please go to our official website.

Open to the general public as well as professionals, Boston University’s Lifelong Learning offers non-credit programs that include certificates in the culinary arts, seminars in food and the arts, wine studies, gastronomic tours, children’s programs, and opportunities for those over the age of 58. Certificate programs in the culinary arts, food studies, cheese studies, and wine studies can also be taken for credit and applied to the MLA in Gastronomy for matriculating gastronomy students.

Culinary Arts

Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts

Created by Julia Child and Jacques Pépin in 1989, the 14-week Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts is an experiential program in which students learn classical, modern, and ethnic techniques of food preparation from some of the world’s finest chefs, industry professionals, and teachers. Guest faculty have included Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Marcella Hazan, Jody Adams, Joanne Chang, Ana Sortun, Jasper White, Mary Ann Esposito, Jamie Bissonnette, Chris Douglass, Jeremy Sewell, Michael Leviton, and many others.

Through lecture, demonstration, hands-on cooking experience, and field trips, the program covers ethnic and regional cuisine, the history of food, menu planning, equipment handling, nutrition, food writing, the economics of running a restaurant, the study of wines, food safety, and sustainability.

Upon successful completion, students receive a Certificate in the Culinary Arts from Boston University.

Wine Programs

The Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center

The Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center was established to foster educational programs exploring all aspects of wine, including viticulture; enology; wine making; wine history; economics; distribution and marketing; pairing with food; and the psychological, physiological, and cultural phenomena of wine consumption.

Certificates in Wine Studies

The Certificates in Wine Studies consist of four levels of coursework and expertise. Students gain personal enrichment in all four levels, while certification in Levels 2, 3, and 4 enhances one’s opportunity to work in the wine industry and hones knowledge for those already in the industry.

  • Level 1: Fundamentals of Wine—An Introduction
  • Level 2: A Comprehensive Survey of Wine
  • Level 3: Mastering Wine—Skill Development
  • Level 4: The Wine Trade—Global, National, and Local Perspectives

Seminars in Food, Wine & the Arts

Seminars in Food, Wine & the Arts offers programs in the culinary arts, wine studies, music, visual arts, and the humanities. Guest faculty include world-renowned chefs and gastronomic experts, winemakers, musicians, museum curators, art historians, and scholars in the humanities. Seminars vary in length and include cooking demonstrations, lectures on viticulture, hands-on cooking classes, gastronomic tours, dinners and performances, talks, and lectures in conjunction with museum exhibits.

Seminars in the Arts

These lectures, discussions, and performances offer thematically arranged surveys of music, visual and performing arts, history, literature, and more.

Dining Out: Feasts of the World

Experience special menus, created by extraordinarily talented chefs at their own restaurants.

Hands-On Cooking

Enjoy expert guidance as you work alongside master chefs.

Cooking Up Culture

Cooking Up Culture is a children’s program designed to build an understanding of cultures and their cuisines though education.

Classes include cooking demonstrations for school groups of up to 60 children, and smaller, hands-on classes in which the youngsters prepare representative foods from specific regions or cultures around the world.

Pépin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy

These topical lectures, offered by Boston University faculty, are open to the public and free (unless otherwise noted).

Special Events

There is always something unique in store, whether it is an upcoming conference or gala, a special class for children, or a neighborhood culinary tour.

Tastings & Demonstrations

Watch and taste as New England’s best chefs, wine connoisseurs, and mixologists demonstrate their best recipes, skills, and insights.

Customized Food and Wine Events

Customized food and wine events include private, hands-on cooking and baking classes, wine classes, or demonstrations with some of the finest chefs. Our state-of-the-art kitchen can accommodate groups for hands-on classes, or up to 90 for demonstrations.

Professional Certificates & Workshops

Certificate in the Basics of Starting a Food Business

John Vyhnanek—restaurant consultant, small business owner, culinary instructor, and chef—introduces the process of starting a food business, whether a cafe, pizzeria, pub, restaurant, or personal chef business. Food industry professionals will also join the class to share their hands-on knowledge and insights. To receive the Certificate in the Basics of Starting a Food Business, students must attend all four sessions and prepare a business plan, to be submitted at the fourth session (all business plans will be held in confidence).

Certificate in Cheese Studies

This eight-week course focuses on the study of artisanal cheeses from many regions of the world. Students learn the traditional method of cheese-making and the influences that affect the final product, including species and breed, feed, milking cycle, culture and rennet, aging, and ripening. The class includes a visit to a farm to study the cheese-making process firsthand. After successful completion of the course and final exam, students receive a Boston University certificate.

Workshop in the Study of Beer and Spirits Essentials

This class will cover the history, production techniques, and classifications of all the major beer and spirits categories. Under the tutelage of Master of Wine Sandy Block, VP of Beverage at Legal Sea Foods, students taste, and become thoroughly familiarized with, the differences among beers and spirits, learn about the ingredients that create these classic beverages, and discuss trends in the beer and spirits industries, in the United States and worldwide. This survey course is ideal for people who have an interest in beer and spirits, but would like to have a greater in-depth understanding of the richness and diversity comprising these categories.

Workshop in Wine Making

In this unique, hands-on workshop, students collaborate in teams to research, design, and produce their own red wine, in conjunction with Boston Winery. The hands-on experience will include lectures on harvest parameters, crushing and maceration, fermentation, maturation, bottling, and storage. Students document their progress and report to the course instructor as they navigate the exciting and unpredictable art of vinification.

Evergreen

Evergreen is a specially designed course of study and activities for persons over the age of 58, including lectures, discussions, and artistic and cultural events. Faculty members and distinguished guest instructors teach in both the lecture and workshop format.

Evergreen participants may also enroll as auditors in most University credit courses on a space-available basis for a nominal registration fee. Visit www.bu.edu/evergreen for details.