Gastronomy

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION
Gastronomy is a key component of the Catering business and of paramount importance in the Hospitality industry. This subject aims at providing students with the necessary basic knowledge to understand the complexity of Gastronomy and its expression in the different cuisines worldwide. In addition, the subject provides the essential knowledge that explains the advent of commercial catering and its evolution up to the present. This knowledge will enable students to identify, understand and analyze the variables intervening in the elaboration of a gastronomic offer so that it can be coherently designed, taking into consideration specific criteria such as cultural factors, the potential of food products or the newest gastronomic and culinary trends.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Know the criteria and regulations applicable to the creation of the hotel product.
2. Expand general knowledge about the hotel sector, within the scope of tourist accommodation companies
3. Identify the most important Quality and Environmental Management Systems applicable to tourist accommodation companies
4. Know the operational management of restaurants

ACADEMIC CONTENTS
1. Concept of gastronomy
1.1. Feeding, cooking, cuisine and gastronomy.
1.2. Groups, organizations and institutions related to gastronomy.
1.3. Sources and reference literature and publications, gastronomic information on the internet.
2. Cuisines of the world: the gastronomic offer
2.1. Diet and cultural identity
2.2. Geography of the gastronomic diversity
2.3. The Mediterranean cuisine
2.4. Food products around the world
3. Development of modern contemporary cuisine 
3.1. Historical background of commercial catering
3.2. Contemporary gastronomic movements
3.3. The role of women in modern gastronomy
3.4. Current gastronomy trends and future after COVID-19

LEARNING METHODOLOGY
The learning methodologies planned for the subject combine a number of processes being the most remarkable the cognitive methods related to the comprehension of the principles of tourism and the global tourism system as well as the inclusion of a set of skills, mainly technical.
The activities and methodologies -both group and individual- designed for this subject are the following:
•Lectures
• Case studies
• Guided discussions
• Practical exercises

Class participation and discussion on the proposed topics will be especially encouraged. The student’s collaboration with the suggested readings and exercises is essential to achieve dynamic class participation with well-founded contributions.
Research and documentation spirit will be fostered together with the ability to work autonomously, by means of exercises and assignments to be done both inside and outside the classroom.

ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
The assessment system measures the student’s achievement of learning outcomes regarding the subject’s competences and contents. Students may choose continuous assessment or single assessment:
Continuous Assessment: the teaching-learning process is assessed by a continuous monitoring of the work done by the students throughout the course and a final individual examination. Students must attend classes in order to be assessed by continuous assessment. Single Assessment: for those students who cannot come to class regularly, they can choose to be assessed by single assessment. The teaching-learning process is assessed by means of the assessment of all activities and in-person individual examination at the end of the course.
To qualify for this form of assessment, students must apply within the first 15 days of the start of the course through the assessment section of Virtual Campus.

The assessment activities planning will be public for the students from the start.
 

To pass the course, it is mandatory to have obtained a minimum final grade of "5", as long as the student has completed the individual exam/s or work/s established in the course. This exam/s or final work/s must be graded with a minimum of "4" in order to be able to calculate the average of all the assessment activities carried out during the course.

Revision and Reassessment of the Course
The student has the right to revise all the evidences that have been designed for the assessment of learning.
If a student fails to achieve the learning objectives of the course, in order to opt for the subject reassessment, it will be necessary to have obtained a final grade of the subject between "4-4.9", and to have attended the individual final exam/s or final work/s of the course.
The reassessment process will only involve the modification of the final grade in the case that the new assessment activity is passed and, in any case, the maximum grade will be "5". This grade will be averaged with the other grades of the assessment activities carried out by the student during the corresponding academic period, considering the percentages established in each subject, setting the final grade for the course.