Rouxbe Plant-Based Culinary Program

In November,  I graduated from ROUXBE’s Plant-Based Professional Certification Course. This is the best vegan cooking school online and is wonderfully led by chef instructor Chad Sarno. This course is recognized by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation as a Quality Program.

Even though I have been cooking as a veg personal chef since 2008, I thought it would be fun to join a culinary program to fill in any gaps in my knowledge.  The online set up was perfect for my schedule and I could prepare all of my homework in my own kitchen whenever I had time.  The instructional videos are first-rate and are even used by some traditional culinary schools because of their high quality.

The 6 month course is quite comprehensive. You are taught cooking fundamentals so that by the end of the course you can create your own recipes. There are lectures and videos, superb explanations of technical skills like proper knife use, equipment recommendations, flavor building, how to make plant based staples, batch cooking, pasta making, plant based nutrition, raw foods, molecular gastronomy, gluten-free and allergen free-cooking, world flavors and so much more.

Assessments are written exercises, quizzes and exams, as well as sending in photos of your mise en place and garnished dishes.
You are able to come up with some of your own recipes and explore creatively with plant based foods.

The above picture shows a dish I created that is completely raw.  I am continuing to work on a Filipino fusion cookbook. This traditional lumpia is enhanced with a completely homemade raw coconut wrapper!  It was nice to see what other culinary professionals thought about my recipes. I really enjoyed this course and see it as a complement for any chef out there as well as a perfect way to start for any home cook.

I also was happy with how well I did academically. Even though it says 1st place, I really came in 3rd. I tried not to kick myself for the 1 question I missed on the final exam I took late at night on a vacation to San Francisco.

All photos in this post were submitted for grading!  If you are interested in the course and have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them.  You also continue to have access to the course contents after you graduate!
Happy Creating!
Cristina