Deconstructing Learning: The Modernist Classroom

Abstract

This chapter explores the innovation processes at play in the development of Otago Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Culinary Arts (BCA) as it moved away from the French culinary canon, master-apprentice pedagogy, and compartmentalized curriculum. Much like Adria et al.’s (Statement on the “new cookery.” The Observer. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/dec/10/foodanddrink.obsfoodmonthly, 2006) comment that ‘new cookery’ (or modernist cuisine) “… has been widely misunderstood, both outside and inside our profession”, the development of the BCA has been seen by many as being a purely radical change that is disconnected from its roots. This could not be further from the truth and this chapter tells the story of the design of a new approach to culinary education that has paralleled the development of contemporary cuisine. It provides an analysis of the innovation processes at play underpinned by Henderson and Clark’s (Adm Sci Q 35:9–30, 1990) architectural innovation model, while framing its development within the wider narrative of innovation in the global culinary community. To this end, the narrative is structured around the four (modernist) principles of ‘new cookery’ outlined by Adria et al. (Statement on the “new cookery.” The Observer. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/dec/10/foodanddrink.obsfoodmonthly, 2006). These are: we “value tradition and build on it” and aspire to influence the natural evolution of cookery and culinary education; we are motivated by “excellence, openness, and integrity”; we “embrace innovation” that makes a real contribution to culinary education, and; we believe that “cooking can affect people in profound ways” by empowering learners to have agency over their learning. The chapter concludes by mapping the broad phases of an innovation process that began in 2004 using Henderson and Clark’s (Adm Sci Q 35:9–30, 1990) architectural innovation model.