Forgeco is a small culinary school in Paris. The pedagogy is based on an apprenticeship style of training where former professionals guide the learners through their program. The learners must demonstrate on a daily basis having achieved a set of objectives by producing a meal while respecting hygiene and safety measures and controlling costs and resources. On a typical day, the participants will be given a menu and will analyze the technical specifications sheets in a classroom. The trainer will present key ingredients and some cooking techniques and instructions. The group will then move on to the kitchen and be divided into three groups: one for the starter course, one for the entrée, and one for the dessert. Under the guidance and observation of the trainer, the groups will have to produce their dish so that it is ready to be served to guests by 12:30. At the end of their meal, the trainer/chef will ask the guests to comment on their meal. The learners will then have lunch themselves and will analyze their production. The trainer will, at the end of the meal, share the guests’ comments with them and they will, based on their own analyses and the clients’ feedback, look at what they did well and how they could correct what was less appreciated.

This I believe is an example of not only action learning but also of multimodal learning:

• Text is used to present the recipes, the ingredients, nutritional characteristics, potential allergies and contraindications, etc.
• Image is used to show the end result, the tools which will be used and the cooking techniques.
• A video may be shown of the cooking techniques and the progression,
• The learners will get to touch the ingredients and learn the gestures.
• The participants will also get to taste their production from beginning to end of the process.

Because the participants come from various parts of the world and from a great variety of culinary traditions, it is very interesting to share techniques, ideas and taste preferences as a group. Also, a significant segment of the student population is not comfortable with text, either in reading or writing. Multimodal teaching techniques help to reach a greater number of learners and provide reinforcement in a more stimulating way.

Although most of the instruction happens in a face-to-face setting, trainers encourage participants to search for information on the Internet and report on their findings and to join online groups in order to share experiences and ideas.

It would be difficult to duplicate the learning experience provided by this institute in a fully online environment. I believe technology finds its limits here because so much of the learning relies on collaboration and teamwork during production as well as critically tasting the results as a group.

Works consulted:

• Multimodal Instruction to Support Diverse Learners and Foster Multiliteracies by Rhiannon Vining, 24 July 2014
• The Impact of Technology on Apprenticeship in New Brunswick, The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum