Chefs and cooks can brush up on new cooking techniques and use the latest culinary tools during one of OSU Institute of Technology School of Culinary Arts’ Modern Cuisine workshops.

This is the second year Chef Bill Leib, a Culinary instructor at OSUIT, is offering the two-day summer courses that will cover topics including in-depth sous vide cooking techniques, chamber vacuum techniques and other modern cooking methods like foams, infusions and carbonation.

There are two workshops offered this summer on July 11 and 12, and Aug. 1 and 2. The cost is $400 and American Culinary Federation members get a $25 discount.

The cost includes all food, printed and digital copies of recipes, and breakfast and lunch both days.

Class size is limited to 15 people to allow for more individualized instruction. Participants just need to bring working kitchen attire and a desire to learn.

Leib said last summer’s Modern Cuisine workshops must have been a success because he received calls all fall and spring asking if he was going to offer them again.

“We will cover a lot of topics in modern cuisine including sous vide, hydrocolloids, modern equipment, as well as applications in a restaurant setting,” he said. “These are some of the more common techniques and the most accessible to the average chef so that they can implement them in their own operation without too much trouble or cost.”

Those attending the workshops will also have the opportunity to use more modern pieces of equipment, some of which has long been used in science labs but is now being utilized in kitchens. They include immersion circulators, anti-griddles, centrifuges, rotary evaporators, and whipping siphons.

“This year there will be more focus on individual creativity with time to flesh out ideas on day two. This will even allow the attendees some time to experiment on their own,” Leib said.

For chefs and cooks working full time, it can be tough to get out of your comfort zones, he said, but it’s vital to continue to challenge yourself.

“As a chef it is always important to continue to learn. In this business being stagnant will make it very hard for your business to compete. In this day of technology and with channels like Food Network, more and more customers are aware of trends and techniques from all over the world so they look for these things,” Leib said. “For chefs in this part of the country, it’s easier to come to Okmulgee than it is to travel somewhere on the East or West Coast, so it’s a win-win for them as well as our program.”

For more on the Modern Cuisine workshops or to enroll, contact Denise Wise at 918.293.5030 or Chef Bill Leib at bill.leib@okstate.edu.