Full 150 list of 50 Minute Classroom Articles
05 September 2023Chef Adam Weiner writes his final article in the 50 Minute Classroom series.
By Adam Weiner, JD, CFSE
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I was contacted in late 2008 by the editor of the Gold Medal Classroom and asked to write “a few” articles for the online magazine while they looked for someone to take over this feature permanently. No one had any idea at the time I would be retiring from this position after writing 150 articles for nearly 15 years.
Every article is written with the goal of teachers and culinary instructors using these pieces immediately. They also serve as an ongoing reference and for sparking teaching ideas in the culinary classroom. In looking at the list, I am pleased that most of the articles are still applicable today and could be utilized immediately in your classroom. Most could be used as is, with some requiring an easy update. Please look at the list and see what you could use in your classroom this term or school year. (Spoiler alert, the most popular article was number 52, and you could probably use that idea in your classroom next month.) If you want something to use today, try number 18 or perhaps even 32.
A recurring theme has been the need to teach your students not only technical skills, but work and life skills as well. With this combination, your students will succeed not only in cooking but in any job or position they hold. And, most importantly, they will succeed with whatever life serves them. Isn’t that the most important thing to teach?
If I may be of any assistance to you with your teaching, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach me through Lisa Parish at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Enjoy the full list of all 150 articles!
- “Teaching Presentation in 50 Minutes” January/February 2009
- “Teaching with Puzzles“ March/April 2009
- “At-a-Glance Refresher” (a Culinary Cheat Sheet) May/June 2009
- “Out of the Box” (on the Reality of Cooking with Convenience Products) September 2009
- “Cooking Quotes” November 2009 (NO HYPERLINK but please see numbers 85 and 86 below.)
- “Teaching Students How to Plan Their Cooking,” January 2010
- “The Importance of Preparation Among the 5 Ps” March 2010
- “Teaching International Cuisines” May 2010
- “10 Key Points of Separation” (Amateur vs. Professional cooks), June 2010
- “Braising” September 2010
- “How to Buy Knives” October 2010
- “How to Buy Knives, Part 2” November 2010
- “How to Buy Knives, Part 3” December 2010
- “How to Buy Knives, Part 4” January 2011
- “Interview Skills” March 2011
- “Help Your Students Keep Their Jobs” May 2011
- “Teaching Baking in 50 Minutes” July/August 2011
- “Assessing Culinary Math Skills” September 2011
- “Student Motivation” October 2011
- “Foodservice Economics“ November 2011
- “Teaching Food Costs“ December 2011
- “Sauté“ January 2012
- “Chocolate Dipping“ February 2012
- “Teaching Nutrition, Part 1” March 2012
- “Teaching Nutrition, Part 2“ April 2012
- “Assessment“ May 2012
- “Teaching Students How to Get a Job, Part 1“ June 2012
- “Teaching Your Students How to Find a Job, Part 2“ July/August 2012
- “Salt“ September 2012
- “Capitalize on Boards, Commissions and Associations“ October 2012
- “Making Sure Everyone Shares in the Work, Making Sure Everyone Gets the Glory“ November 2012
- “12 Things for Students to Know“ (working in a commercial kitchen) December 2012
- “Do You Teach Recipes or Technique?“ January 2013
- “Reading and Writing Recipes“ February 2013
- “Teaching Steaming“ March 2013
- “Teaching Grilling“ April 2013
- “Teaching the Value of ‘Real’ Networking“ May 2013
- “As Teachers, Always ‘On,’ All the Time“ June 2013
- “The 10 Hardest Things to Teach Young Culinary Students“ July/August 2013
- “Working in Teams Needs to be Taught“ September 2013
- “Picking Teams“ October 2013
- “Playing Games” November 2013
- “Volunteering for Young and Old” December 2013
- “Teaching How to Prepare to Give a Non-class Demonstration” January 2014
- “Do You Need to Teach Science?” February 2014
- “Science Your Students Need to Know” March 2014
- “The Rest of the Science” April 2014
- “Look for the Open Door. It is There” (commencement speech) May 2014
- “Teaching Essential Skills” June 2014
- “The First 50 Index” July/August 2014
- “Blanching and Parboiling” September 2014
- “Teaching Thanksgiving Side Dishes” October 2014 (This is the most popular of all of 50 Minute Classroom articles.)
- “How to Order” November 2014
- “Profit and Fun With Gingerbread Houses” December 2014
- “Student Training Logs” January 2015
- “Measuring” February 2015
- “Shake Up Your Training, Mix Up Your Style” March 2015
- “Those Who Can, Teach. Those Who Can’t, Do” April 2015
- “To Pay It Forward, Keep Learning” June/July 2015
- “Sauces” in 50 Minutes August 2015
- “Why Every Student Must be Food-Allergen Savvy” September 2015
- “Tragedy of the Commons” November 2015
- “Taste Something New for the Holidays” December 2015
- “Make a Resolution to Lose Weight—Instructors Can Do It!“ January 2016
- “Has the Love Gone Out of Your Teaching?” February 2016
- “Teaching Your Students About Seafood Sustainability” March 2016
- “Buying Local Goes Beyond a Farm’s Distance” April 2016
- “Cooking by Description” May 2016
- “The Carbon Footprint of Food” June 2016
- “Food Safety Basics” July/August 2016
- “Start Small and Finish It All—Minimizing Food Waste and Lost Food Costs (Commercial)” September 2016
- “Start Small and Finish It All – Even at Home—Minimizing Food Waste and Lost Food Costs (Home)” October 2016
- “Basic Portion Control is the Bottom Line” November 2016
- “Quality and the Art of Snickerdoodle Making” December 2016
- “75th Article Index” January 2017
- "Mindful Eating as a Weight Loss Strategy" February 2017
- "Having Fun and Humility as a Teacher" March 2017
- "Fruit Goes Savory in the Classroom" April 2017
- "Teaching Students Math with Pizzas" May 2017
- "Fine Dining is Fine but There Are Other Places to Work as Well" June 2017
- "Tips for Working with Young Adults" July/August 2017
- "Teaching Culinary Job Titles" September 2017
- "Anything Can Happen on Assessment Friday" October 2017
- "Teaching Basic Serving" November 2017
- "Quotes Culinarians Appreciate Part I" December 2017
- "Quotes Culinarians Appreciate Part II" January 2018
- "Gluten Allergy to Gluten Intolerant" January 2018
- "Gluten Free Cooking and Baking" February 2018
- "Chef Adam's Gluten Free Recipes" April 2018
- "Don't Cook with Tunnel Vision" April 2018
- "Why You Should Become a Non-Culinary Student"May 2018
- "Using a Game on the First Day of Class to Teach Passion and Pride" August 2018
- "Beyond Poke Bowls" September 2018
- "Mise En Place Will Set You Free" October 2018
- "Pickling and Fermenting" November 2018
- "Teaching International Cuisine Through Holiday Traditions" December 2018
- "Defensive Cuisine: Fixing Burnt and Stupid" January 2019
- "Teaching Reality/Never Do Your Best" February 2019
- "Capstone Project" April 2019
- "100th Article Index” May 2019
- “Teaching How to Work with Health Inspectors” June/July 2019
- “Modernizing Curriculum Requires Change” August 2019
- “The Care and Feeding of Technical Advisory Committees” September 2019
- "The Proper Use of Cooking Thermometers" October 2019
- "Measuring Liquids and Solids" November 2019
- "Changing Culinary Curriculum One Class at a Time” December 2019
- “Energy and Inspiration--Making a Personal Change" January 2020
- “The Do's and Don'ts of Presenting Food Orally” February 2020
- "Conducting a Cooking Competition" February 2020
- "Teaching Virtually" March 2020
- "Practical Suggestions for Online Lesson Planning" March 2020
- "Virtual Wellness" March 2020
- "Buying Knives for Graduating Students--A Guide for Family Members" March 2020
- "Completion Speech" May 2020
- "Cook With What You Actually Have--Ingredient Flexibility" June 2020
- “Using Non-textbooks as Written Material for Your Class" August 2020
- "Concurrent Teaching and Street Tacos" September 2020
- "Basic Seasoning and Spicing" September 2020
- “Virtually Teaching Delicious Healthy Homemade Thanksgiving Side Dishes” November 2020
- “Virtually Teaching Student-led International Holiday Foods” December 2020
- "Teaching Basic Food Service Economics at All Levels" December 2020
- "Know the Ingredients in Your Spice Blends" January 2021
- "Teaching OSHA Safety in Culinary Programs" (Part 1) February 2021
- “Teaching OSHA Safety in Culinary Programs" (Part 2) March 2021
- “You–as a Culinary Instructor–Are More Important Than You Think" April 2021
- "Advice for Females in Culinary Arts and Their Instructors" June 2021
- “Beginning the School Year with Engaging Activities" August 2021
- “It’s Time Again to Do Things Differently" August 2021
- “New Recipes Tricks of the Trade" October 2021
- “Building a Better Charcuterie Board" November 2021
- "Ending the Year on a High Note (Game)" December 2021
- “Teaching Oral Kitchen Communication" December 2021
- "Practical Tips on Finding and Securing Employment" January 2022
- "Taste Like a Chef" February 2022
- “Get Ready for Competitions" March 2022
- “Practical Tips for Keeping a Culinary or Hospitality Position" May 2022
- "Thinking Beyond the Next Meal and Next Service" June 2022
- “Summertime and the Living Is Easy" August 2022
- “Introduction to Teaching Climate Change in Culinary Classrooms" September 2022
- "Including Environmental Issues in Your Day-to-day Teaching" October 2022
- "Using Tacos to Teach Climate Change" November 2022
- “The Opportunity Cost of Corn” December 2022
- “The Opportunity Costs of Beef” January 2023
- "The Beginning of Seafood Sustainability" February 2023
- "Seafood Sustainability: Where do We Go from Here?" March 2023
- “The Power is Yours" April 2023
- “Oh, The Places You Will Go (A Graduation Speech)" May 2023
- "Creating Success and Adventure" May 2023
- "Teach Students to be Ready for Life's Changes" August 2023
- “Index of the 150 Articles”
Adam Weiner, JD, CFSE, has been a culinary instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 18 years.