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!

1. “Teaching Presentation in 50 Minutes” January/February 2009
2. “Teaching with Puzzles“ March/April 2009 
3. “At-a-Glance Refresher” (a Culinary Cheat Sheet) May/June 2009
4. “Out of the Box” (on the Reality of Cooking with Convenience Products) September 2009
5. “Cooking Quotes” November 2009 (NO HYPERLINK but please see numbers 85 and 86 below.)
6. “Teaching Students How to Plan Their Cooking,” January 2010
7. “The Importance of Preparation Among the 5 Ps” March 2010
8. “Teaching International Cuisines” May 2010
9. “10 Key Points of Separation” (Amateur vs. Professional cooks), June 2010
10. “Braising” September 2010
11. “How to Buy Knives” October 2010
12. “How to Buy Knives, Part 2” November 2010
13. “How to Buy Knives, Part 3” December 2010
14. “How to Buy Knives, Part 4” January 2011
15. “Interview Skills” March 2011
16. “Help Your Students Keep Their Jobs” May 2011
17. “Teaching Baking in 50 Minutes” July/August 2011
18. “Assessing Culinary Math Skills” September 2011
19. “Student Motivation” October 2011
20. “Foodservice Economics“ November 2011
21. “Teaching Food Costs“ December 2011
22. “Sauté“ January 2012
23. “Chocolate Dipping“ February 2012
24. “Teaching Nutrition, Part 1” March 2012
25. “Teaching Nutrition, Part 2“ April 2012
26. “Assessment“ May 2012
27. “Teaching Students How to Get a Job, Part 1“ June 2012
28. “Teaching Your Students How to Find a Job, Part 2“ July/August 2012
29. “Salt“ September 2012
30. “Capitalize on Boards, Commissions and Associations“ October 2012
31. “Making Sure Everyone Shares in the Work, Making Sure Everyone Gets the Glory“ November 2012
32. “12 Things for Students to Know“ (working in a commercial kitchen) December 2012
33. “Do You Teach Recipes or Technique?“ January 2013
34. “Reading and Writing Recipes“ February 2013
35. “Teaching Steaming“ March 2013
36. “Teaching Grilling“ April 2013
37. “Teaching the Value of ‘Real’ Networking“ May 2013
38. “As Teachers, Always ‘On,’ All the Time“ June 2013
39. “The 10 Hardest Things to Teach Young Culinary Students“ July/August 2013
40. “Working in Teams Needs to be Taught“ September 2013 
41. “Picking Teams“ October 2013
42. “Playing Games” November 2013
43. “Volunteering for Young and Old” December 2013
44. “Teaching How to Prepare to Give a Non-class Demonstration” January 2014
45. “Do You Need to Teach Science?” February 2014
46. “Science Your Students Need to Know” March 2014
47. “The Rest of the Science” April 2014
48. “Look for the Open Door. It is There” (commencement speech) May 2014
49. “Teaching Essential Skills” June 2014
50. “The First 50 Index” July/August 2014
51. “Blanching and Parboiling” September 2014
52. “Teaching Thanksgiving Side Dishes” October 2014 (This is the most popular of all of 50 Minute Classroom articles.)
53. “How to Order” November 2014
54.  “Profit and Fun With Gingerbread Houses” December 2014
55. “Student Training Logs” January 2015
56. “Measuring” February 2015
57. “Shake Up Your Training, Mix Up Your Style” March 2015
58. “Those Who Can, Teach. Those Who Can’t, Do” April 2015
59. “To Pay It Forward, Keep Learning” June/July 2015
60. “Sauces” in 50 Minutes August 2015
61. “Why Every Student Must be Food-Allergen Savvy” September 2015
62. “Tragedy of the Commons” November 2015
63. “Taste Something New for the Holidays” December 2015
64. “Make a Resolution to Lose Weight—Instructors Can Do It!“ January 2016
65. “Has the Love Gone Out of Your Teaching?” February 2016
66. “Teaching Your Students About Seafood Sustainability” March 2016
67. “Buying Local Goes Beyond a Farm’s Distance” April 2016
68. “Cooking by Description” May 2016
69. “The Carbon Footprint of Food” June 2016
70. “Food Safety Basics” July/August 2016
71. “Start Small and Finish It All—Minimizing Food Waste and Lost Food Costs (Commercial)” September 2016
72. “Start Small and Finish It All – Even at Home—Minimizing Food Waste and Lost Food Costs (Home)” October 2016
73. “Basic Portion Control is the Bottom Line” November 2016
74. “Quality and the Art of Snickerdoodle Making” December 2016
75. “75th Article Index” January 2017
76. "Mindful Eating as a Weight Loss Strategy" February 2017
77. "Having Fun and Humility as a Teacher" March 2017
78. "Fruit Goes Savory in the Classroom" April 2017
79. "Teaching Students Math with Pizzas" May 2017
80. "Fine Dining is Fine but There Are Other Places to Work as Well" June 2017
81. "Tips for Working with Young Adults" July/August 2017
82. "Teaching Culinary Job Titles" September 2017
83. "Anything Can Happen on Assessment Friday" October 2017
84. "Teaching Basic Serving" November 2017
85. "Quotes Culinarians Appreciate Part I" December 2017
86. "Quotes Culinarians Appreciate Part II" January 2018
87. "Gluten Allergy to Gluten Intolerant" January 2018
88. "Gluten Free Cooking and Baking" February 2018
89. "Chef Adam's Gluten Free Recipes" April 2018
90. "Don't Cook with Tunnel Vision" April 2018
91. "Why You Should Become a Non-Culinary Student"May 2018
92. "Using a Game on the First Day of Class to Teach Passion and Pride" August 2018
93. "Beyond Poke Bowls" September 2018
94. "Mise En Place Will Set You Free" October 2018
95. "Pickling and Fermenting" November 2018
96. "Teaching International Cuisine Through Holiday Traditions" December 2018
97. "Defensive Cuisine: Fixing Burnt and Stupid" January 2019 
98. "Teaching Reality/Never Do Your Best" February 2019
99. "Capstone Project" April 2019
100. "100th Article Index” May 2019 
101. “Teaching How to Work with Health Inspectors” June/July 2019
102. “Modernizing Curriculum Requires Change” August 2019
103. “The Care and Feeding of Technical Advisory Committees” September 2019
104. "The Proper Use of Cooking Thermometers" October 2019
105. "Measuring Liquids and Solids" November 2019
106. "Changing Culinary Curriculum One Class at a Time” December 2019
107. “Energy and Inspiration--Making a Personal Change" January 2020
108. “The Do's and Don'ts of Presenting Food Orally” February 2020
109. "Conducting a Cooking Competition" February 2020
110. "Teaching Virtually" March 2020
111. "Practical Suggestions for Online Lesson Planning" March 2020
112. "Virtual Wellness" March 2020
113. "Buying Knives for Graduating Students--A Guide for Family Members" March 2020
114. "Completion Speech" May 2020
115. "Cook With What You Actually Have--Ingredient Flexibility" June 2020
116. “Using Non-textbooks as Written Material for Your Class" August 2020
117. "Concurrent Teaching and Street Tacos" September 2020
118. "Basic Seasoning and Spicing" September 2020
119. “Virtually Teaching Delicious Healthy Homemade Thanksgiving Side Dishes” November 2020
120. “Virtually Teaching Student-led International Holiday Foods” December 2020
121. "Teaching Basic Food Service Economics at All Levels" December 2020
122. "Know the Ingredients in Your Spice Blends" January 2021
123. "Teaching OSHA Safety in Culinary Programs" (Part 1) February 2021
124. “Teaching OSHA Safety in Culinary Programs" (Part 2) March 2021
125. “You–as a Culinary Instructor–Are More Important Than You Think" April 2021
126. "Advice for Females in Culinary Arts and Their Instructors" June 2021
127. “Beginning the School Year with Engaging Activities" August 2021
128. “It’s Time Again to Do Things Differently" August 2021
129. “New Recipes Tricks of the Trade" October 2021
130. “Building a Better Charcuterie Board" November 2021
131. "Ending the Year on a High Note (Game)" December 2021
132. “Teaching Oral Kitchen Communication" December 2021
133. "Practical Tips on Finding and Securing Employment" January 2022
134. "Taste Like a Chef" February 2022
135. “Get Ready for Competitions" March 2022
136. “Practical Tips for Keeping a Culinary or Hospitality Position" May 2022
137. "Thinking Beyond the Next Meal and Next Service" June 2022
138. “Summertime and the Living Is Easy" August 2022
139. “Introduction to Teaching Climate Change in Culinary Classrooms" September 2022
140. "Including Environmental Issues in Your Day-to-day Teaching" October 2022
141. "Using Tacos to Teach Climate Change" November 2022
142. “The Opportunity Cost of Corn” December 2022
143. “The Opportunity Costs of Beef” January 2023
144. "The Beginning of Seafood Sustainability" February 2023
145. "Seafood Sustainability: Where do We Go from Here?" March 2023
146. “The Power is Yours" April 2023
147. “Oh, The Places You Will Go (A Graduation Speech)" May 2023
148. "Creating Success and Adventure" May 2023
149. "Teach Students to be Ready for Life's Changes" August 2023
150. “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.