Program Overview

Unit Overview

The unit UNMC593 - Advanced Culinary Nutrition Science in Practice - Theory is a microcredential that aims to provide students with a critical understanding of the factors that influence the eating experience and dietary intakes. The unit explores the relationships between food, perceptions of food, the eating environment, and food and beverage intake.

Unit Rationale, Description, and Aim

Eating is integral to life, and various factors affect the eating experience. This microcredential supports students in obtaining a critical understanding of these factors, from the composition and function of ingredients to the dining environment. The aim is to help students acquire complex, high-level knowledge and understanding to solve nutrition-related problems through innovative planning of food, eating environments, and eating occasions with high sensory appeal.

Learning Outcomes

To successfully complete this unit, students will be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

• Critically examine the relationship between the functionality of single and composite ingredients and the sensory experience of eating/drinking
• Demonstrate highly professional written communication skills

Unit Content

The unit covers topics including:

• Composition and function of ingredients
• Taste, odour, and flavour
• Sensory experience of eating
• Advanced sensory analysis
• Influence of the eating environment design and gastrophysics
• Sensory principles for healthy ingredient substitution
• Food styling principles for the table, in plating, and in amateur food photography
• Scientific principles of preparation and cooking methods
• Culinary nutrition science communication
• Culinary science research

Assessment Strategy and Rationale

The assessment involves a single written assessment task submitted anytime within the teaching period. This task provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to evaluate and communicate complex culinary science principles using clear examples.

Overview of Assessments

• Written assessment task (100%): Enables students to demonstrate their ability to assess and clearly articulate the links between the composition and function of a single or composite ingredient and sensory experience.

Learning and Teaching Strategy and Rationale

The microcredential begins with approaches designed to support the acquisition of specialist knowledge. The approaches used to facilitate students' learning include asynchronous online interactive learning modules and interaction driven by engagement with forums using formats with high visual impact.

Representative Texts and References

• Blumenthal, H. (2008). The Big Fat Duck Cookbook. London: Bloomsbury.
• Segnit, N. (2010). The Flavour Thesaurus. London: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Spence, C. (2017). . United Kingdom: Penguin Random House.
• The Science of Taste Symposium. (2014). Originally published in the journal which is no longer published. Collection of articles published by BMC
• This, H. (2008). Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor. New York: Colombia University Press
• This, H. (2010). Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking. New York: Colombia University Press
• Vega, C., Ubbink, J. & van der Linden E. Ed. (2013). The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking. New York: Colombia University Press

Credit Points and Year

• Credit points: 5
• Year: 2026

Campus Offering

No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.

Prerequisites

Nil