Follow That Pig: Visually Charting Enhanced Learning in a Culinary School Butchery Class

Culinary school curricula are composed of courses that present techniques rooted in the classical French cuisine of Escoffier. Students learn by doing; that is, they are presented a technique in a two-dimensional textbook, watch an instructor demonstrate it, and then practice it on their own. This article traces a lesson that enhances this process by asking students to incorporate higher-order concepts into their learning process, and challenge what they know. Through the interactive demonstration of breaking down and processing a whole pig, students were challenged to connect this experience to broader issues in their personal lives, their career goals, and contemporary issues such as reducing food waste. The analysis highlights that when students are engaged in growing the produce they use to learn knife skills, or breaking down the pig they use to make pâté, an enhanced connection exists that benefits the learning environment.