New name, same recipe for success

A new name has been announced for a long-running and hugely popular food-focused course at UCC.

The Diploma in Speciality and Artisan Food Enterprises, formerly known as the Diploma in Speciality Food Production, provides an insight into the challenges of creating a small food enterprise and the skills required to make a successful business.

The new name aims to reflect the evolution of the course content to meet change.

The diploma was developed to provide a broad understanding of the growing differentiation of the food market in which a significant segment of consumers is motivated by characteristics of taste, traceability, quality, sustainability, and proximity.

It provides essential scientific background in the field of food science and technology, including elements of food microbiology, food safety, food chemistry, process technologies, nutrition, and sensory food science.

Traditional methods of food manufacture are also be covered during the course. The programme also includes an introduction to small business management, financing, and marketing.

Almost 300 graduates have completed the diploma since its inception, many of whom have gone on to develop successful small food businesses. “We consider it a timely change and one that fits with the current lines of thought that innovation is fundamental to achieving sustainability in all its forms,” a UCC spokesperson said.