The document provides an introduction to culinary arts. It defines key terms like culinary, culinary arts, and culinary artist. A culinary artist is a skilled person who prepares meals and menus with consideration for diet and nutrition. Cuisine refers to the characteristic cooking practices associated with a particular culture. The history of culinary arts in outlined, noting the first cooking schools in the 1800s in Boston and the influential chefs and books that helped establish culinary arts as a profession in America in the following centuries. The document also explains the kitchen brigade system used in professional kitchens to delegate specialized responsibilities among kitchen staff.