FdSc Artisan Food Production

Why choose this course?

This course is delivered by professional artisan food specialists at The School of Artisan Food - based on the Welbeck Estate - alongside food technology specialists at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

• Teaching will be split between The School of Artisan Food, based in North Nottinghamshire on the Welbeck Estate, and Nottingham Trent University (NTU) Brackenhurst Campus.
• You'll have access to newly refurbished, purpose-built training rooms and a demonstration theatre at The School of Artisan Food. Meanwhile, you'll also have access to all the facilities at Nottingham Trent University including our library, Employability team and food laboratories
• The School of Artisan Food has an outstanding reputation for the quality of training it provides, and you'll benefit from staff who are some of the most skilled and experienced artisan producers and practitioners in the UK, Europe and beyond.
• This degree will equip you with the skills necessary for employment within the wider food production industry.

 

What you'll study: 

During this course, you'll learn the skills needed to work in the artisan food industry, from developing your practical expertise and producing a range of food products to setting up an artisan food business. You'll also study the functionality of high-end food ingredients, and practical skills such as bread-making, patisserie and viennoiserie, butchery, charcuterie and cheese-making.

YEAR ONE

Artisan Bread Production:

Through a mixture of theory and practical bread making sessions, develop your understanding of the fermentation process and critical key stages to bread making. You’ll also learn about recipe formulation and raw bread material function in fermented baking.

Patisserie and Viennoiserie

Gain knowledge of the ingredients, artisan production methods, baking techniques, and vocabulary associated with artisan patisserie and viennoiserie. This module will also equip you with the necessary technical skills needed to produce a variety of different artisan products.

Artisan Dairy Production

This module will provide a background to the UK dairy industry including sourcing, quality of milk and cattle breeds. You’ll gain an in-depth knowledge of the production of dairy products, including a range of cheeses and undertake practical sessions to manufacture hard and soft cheeses, cream, butter, yoghurt and ice cream.

Food Chemistry

Understand the key scientific principles relevant to food science, including the constituents of food and the effects these have on both their properties and functions. You’ll also develop the skills necessary to undertake simple laboratory analysis of food and interpret the data.

Artisan Business Enterprise and Marketing:

Gain the skills needed to plan an independent artisan business, including an overview of the key choices facing a startup food business, and developing a realistic marketing proposition for an artisan food business. You’ll also explore sustainability, ethical and health issues relating to food production, consumption and quality, and how this relates to producers.

YEAR TWO

This is a placement year for students on the three-year course.

FINAL YEAR

Consumer nutrition and health 

Gain an understanding of human nutrition and the ability to analyse foods for macronutrients associated with nutrition and allergies. Throughout this module, you’ll also learn how consumer nutrition needs and trends affect product development, processing and packaging.

Advanced Artisan Bread Production:

Develop your bread-making skills further, developing more complex techniques and the theoretical knowledge behind them. You’ll also be exposed to larger batch production and the requirements of this scale of production.

Artisan Business Operations and Finance:

This module will provide you with the tools needed to operate an independent artisan business and understand the associated finance including feasibility, and start-up options.

Artisan Buisness Planning:

Learn how to develop a financially robust business plan for an artisan start-up. You’ll gain an understanding of return on investment and its application in business planning and risk management within an artisan food business.

Food Industry Employability:

Throughout this module, you will develop a portfolio and professional social media profile. You’ll also be given support with developing your continued professional development and engage with our university employability team to improve your future graduate work prospects.

You'll also choose one optional module:

Artisan Butchery and Charcuterie:

Gain an insight into traditional butchery methods and techniques focusing on three main meat animals - pigs, cattle and sheep. You’ll be introduced to basic anatomy, knife skills, an overview of livestock production, and the principles of transforming meat into charcuterie using curing, fermentation and smoking.

Advanced Viennoiserie and Chocolate Patisserie:

Learn about the ingredients, advanced artisan production methods, and baking techniques required to produce a range of chocolate products, chocolate patisserie, and French patisserie and viennoiserie products. 

How you're taught:

On this course, your teaching will be split between The School of Artisan Food, based in north Nottinghamshire on the Welbeck Estate, and Nottingham Trent University Brackenhurst Campus.

The course includes an opportunity to work in a placement in artisan food production, to help prepare you for a career in the sector.

Facilities:

The School of Artisan Food has an outstanding reputation for the quality of training it provides, and you’ll benefit from staff who are some of the most skilled and experienced artisan producers and practitioners in the UK, Europe and beyond.

They also boast newly refurbished, purpose-built training rooms and a demonstration theatre, which all include state-of-the-art specialist equipment.

Meanwhile, you will also have access to all of the facilities at Nottingham Trent University including our library, Employability team and food laboratories.

Open days:

Find out about studying at The School of Artisan Food by attending an Open Day at Nottingham Trent University.

After your morning at Nottingham Trent University, you'll be invited to drive over to the School here in Welbeck, where our Director of Studies will take you on a tour of the excellent facilities, answer your questions about the FdSc qualification, and give you a chance to experience first-hand what it's like to be a student at The School.