Courses

Affirm the value of creativity in entrepreneurship; learn the specific processes needed to develop and open a new start up food business – product and/or retail; learn basic financial guidelines needed to open a new food business; understand unique attributes of food business financial styles and benchmarks; understand general steps to develop, manufacture and launch a food product; learn the logistic systems requirements and other resources for proper operation; and, understand the current labor challenges and issues.

We examine food from historical and transnational perspectives, including agricultural origins, famines, co-evolution of world cuisines and civilizations, global exchange and spread of food and technologies following the Columbian invasion, issues of hunger, and the effects of the emergent global economy on food, production, diets, foodways and health. Students gain a greater understanding of how food production and consumption influences a myriad of factors, including politics, economics, prevailing notions of health, climate, geography, technology, and culture.

The ways in which writers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers have used food as a theme or symbol for reasons of aesthetic, social, cultural, or political commentary.

The ways in which writers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers have used food as a theme or symbol for reasons of aesthetic, social, cultural, or political commentary.

This course focuses on the role design plays in framing the food environment, from production to consumption and explores how designers influence and shape stakeholders in the food system. Students investigate the interaction of users with designed places, objects, sensorial experiences as well as ideas, services, and systems and learn to analyze the built/material work.

Using a wide range of film genres, we examine food’s role in the human experience. Food and foodways in film portray food and cooking norms, but also provide subtle and overt messaging about culture, ethnicity, race, class and gender. Using a survey of international 20th and 21st century films where food and foodways function as a foundational aspect combined with related texts, students explore food as a visual
messenger. Employing film criticism and theory, students will develop an understanding of the performative aspect of food in art and in our daily lives.

This course will explore food messaging and representation in moments of crisis, both historically and also in our current COVID-19 moment. Employing multiple lenses including ethical, political, communal, and individual, we’ll examine such topics as medieval religious aestheticism/asceticism, World War II propaganda, global notions of food waste, the ethos of food sharing and commensality, and media messaging in the contemporary COVID moment.

The ways in which writers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers have used food as a theme or symbol for reasons of aesthetic, social, cultural, or political commentary.

The hands-on course introduces students to food styling, with dedicated time working in the NYU Food Lab where students develop practical skills and gain experience with styling food. The practical work is complemented by discussions of the history of food styling, current trends, and the varying formats food styling
takes in the food industry. Students will build a foundation of knowledge and practical skills as they learn the craft of food styling. Students should have basic, home level cooking skills.

This course will explore food messaging and representation in moments of crisis, both historically and also in our current COVID-19 moment. Employing multiple lenses including ethical, political, communal, and individual, we’ll examine such topics as medieval religious aestheticism/asceticism, World War II propaganda, global notions of food waste, the ethos of food sharing and commensality, and media messaging in the contemporary COVID moment.

This course critically analyzes how food is portrayed across media platforms. We unpack how media influences taste, purchases, and food beliefs; how it develops characters by what they eat and drink; and how it creates trends and movements. We explore cooking as entertainment, food as personal identity, and how media intersects with class, gender and racial tropes. Beginning with theory and moving through print, television, film, and the internet, students interact with the messages that define American food culture.

Overview of legal issues affecting food service management: laws- contracts- taxes- and relations with administrative and regulatory agencies- both domestic and international.

Organization and management of commercial and institutional food service facilities in hotels, restaurants, and educational and community program sites.

Explores the conceptual underpinnings of the distributive networks through which food travels from farm to table. Examines the relationships between markets, states, and society in their historical and contemporary forms. Employs case studies of how commodities travel through the food system at the local, national and international levels. Topics include mass markets and niche markets; the culture of markets; reciprocity, exchange and redistribution; conventional and alternative supply chains.

Food safety, processing, and regulatory issues related to the role of microorganisms in food processing and preservation. The use of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) to prevent contamination of food, equipment, and personnel.

Demonstrations of techniques for photographing foods for use in print and other media formats.

Demonstration of techniques for photographing foods for use in print and other media formats.

Overview of the policy making process, particularly as it concerns U.S. food and nutrition policy. Students consider the role and organization of government in the realm of food and nutrition policy and examine all stages of the policy cycle, including agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Topics include the role of government in regard to agriculture, global food trade, food safety, retail and restaurants, and nutritional support.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed food system inequities that prioritize profits over public health. Students explore effects of unsustainable food production and consumption methods on food insecurity, obesity-influenced diseases and the environment and consider if food choices should be individual responsibility or government policy. Emphasis on roles for individuals, government, food industry, and civil society in determining food system goals and functions and how people can advocate for food systems that are healthier, more equitable, sustainable, and resilient.

Institutional and commercial food preparation and service, menu planning and pricing, recipe standardization integrated with techniques, methods, principles, standards of food purchasing, receiving, merchandising, and staff supervision.