INTERNATIONALLY renowned culinary-arts association Institut Culinaire Disciples Escoffier (ICDE) of Hong Kong entered into an academic partnership with Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) Manila for the introduction of French cuisine training in the country.
This developed as the CCA is undergoing a P50-million expansion program to establish new campuses in five select areas in the country.
ICDE CEO Benjamin Grenier said the six-month diploma program Disciples Escoffier Diploma in Culinary Arts, which will be offered in CCA’s new Makati City campus in April, will open a wide range of opportunities for its students.
“There is a lot of talent in the Philippines. Those who will complete the program will not only receive a diploma in ICDE but will also get the French Ministry of Education National Diploma in French Cuisine,” Grenier said.
He added, “It will also allow them to network with 25,000 chefs from 26 different countries who are all members of Disciples Escoffier International. They still have to work hard and pay their dues but they will be able to find work in restaurants worldwide.”
Grenier said those who will complete their program will have the option to either work abroad or open their own restaurant.
“Everybody loves good food. We want to contribute to the improvement of the French cuisine scene in the Philippines. I just hope that not all of them will work abroad but also open their own restaurants in the country,” Grenier said.
For her part, CCA Program Director Melissa Oreta said there has been a very strong interest on the ICDE program.
“There is a wait list, because there are limited slots available. What we did is create two sections with the one from Monday to Thursday as full time, and Friday and Saturday as part time,” Oreta said.
She said those enrolled will also learn the intricacies of running a restaurant, various filings with government agencies, ways of expanding the menu and new ways of cooking.
The Disciples Escoffier Diploma in Culinary Arts is a 540-hour program that will focus on the essential of French classic cuisines. Each section will have 15 students.
ICDE will be bringing in three of its chef-instructors and will handle all culinary classes and programs related to French cuisine
Meanwhile, aside from the new Makati City campus, which will open in April, CCA will also open four new campuses in Manila, Taguig City, Pampanga and Cagayan de Oro in June as part of its expansion program.
CCA spent P25 million for its Makati City campus, which will have state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities, including 22 kitchen oven units from Canada and stainless-steel working stations.
The Manila campus, which will be inside Intramuros, and the Pampanga campus were selected because of the strong presence of hotel and restaurant management and culinary schools in those areas, while Cagayan de Oro was selected because of the desire to have a presence in Mindanao.
ICDE was founded in Hong Kong in 2014 by Disciples Escoffier Asia Chairman Robert Fontana. Its partnership with CCA is its first in Southeast Asia.