THE country’s top and pioneering culinary school, the Center for Culinary Arts (CCA Manila), proves once again it is the leader in advancing the standards of the Philippine culinary landscape as it unveils a first-of-its-kind “Halal Culinary Arts” program.
Halal food has been available in the Philippines for a long time, but many Filipinos are not knowledgeable about halal cooking and its various components. Filipino Muslims and tourists from Muslim countries continue to have difficulty looking for restaurants and eateries serving authentic halal food, especially in Metro Manila.
“Halal is not associated with religion alone. It’s a lifestyle and a food-safety standard. I believe that through our Halal Culinary Arts program, we can ensure skills for the preparation, cooking and serving of foods that are delicious, clean, safe, nutritious, sustainable and ethical,” said Dr. Veritas Luna, chancellor for Education of CCA Manila.
CCA Manila has already welcomed the first batch of students for the program. They underwent a rigorous 16-day comprehensive hands-on program totaling 102 hours—the most number of hands-on hours compared to other culinary schools.
“The students of this program are able to develop their cooking skills, train their palate, work in teams and learn discipline while applying the principles of halal cooking,” said Dr. Luna, noting it is CCA Manila’s dream to produce professional halal-certified chefs.
“We have more than 10 million Muslim Filipinos, and we know for a fact that many of them would like to join the hospitality industry. CCA Manila is providing them a strong and professional career path for culinary arts,” Dr. Luna noted. “This program will reach out not only to Filipino Muslims who wish to build their culinary enterprise based on halal principles, but also to those who wish to cater to foreigners or work abroad in Islamic countries. A CCA Manila diploma will surely give them an edge.”
CCA Manila also aims to help the country’s economic growth through culinary tourism, manufacturing, food businesses and culinary agri-preneurship; and the Halal Culinary Arts program is one of the innovative programs that will be introduced by the school this year.
CCA Manila is now accepting applicants for the second batch of students for the Halal Culinary Arts program. Slots are limited. Course fee includes ingredients for all recipes, lecture manuals and uniform.
1 comment
This looks like a nice move for them to bring halal courses into the cuylinary school