for Manila culinary industry

NOWADAYS chefs and other food-preparation workers are very much in demand, and the food industry has numerous culinary positions that are waiting to be filled. The fact that there are around 300 million jobs offered by the global tourism and hospitality industry has awakened a keen interest in many young people to pursue a culinary degree and embark on a career in the kitchen.

In answer to the ongoing demand, a number of culinary arts institutions have been established over the past two years, posing a major challenge among aspiring chefs, future restaurant owners and caterers looking to get the best education.

According to author J. Beudot, “Education is making sure that the pupil can one day get by without the teacher,” a view that is shared by Enderun Colleges, which has partnered with Alain Ducasse Formation (ADF) primarily to codesign and operate a new culinary center in Enderun’s Fort Bonifacio campus that is scheduled to open in June 2008.

The new campus will feature Asia’s most distinguished culinary facility with state-of-the-art equipment. It will offer students the opportunity to master culinary principles and cutting-edge techniques, real-world experience and foundational training in the classical European tradition.

Enderun is an internationally and locally accredited four-year college that offers a full range of bachelor’s degree and nondegree courses in the fields of hotel and restaurant management and the culinary arts. Its commitment to the highest international standards of academic excellence is manifest in many ways. Its curricula are handled by some of the leading lights of the global hospitality industry, as well as by a general education faculty that is among the best in the region. Enderun’s campus facilities, which feature hotel-quality appointments and integrated learning technologies, are topnotch.  

Enderun offers a carefully crafted program of study that leads to a bachelor’s degree in International Hospitality Management and offers students the option of pursuing Culinary Arts and/or Hotel Administration. To differentiate itself from other culinary arts schools and hotel colleges, its program provides students with a solid foundation for building a career in hospitality management, with an emphasis on international internships. Spread over four years, the program consists of six semesters on the Enderun campus and two semesters of practical internship in Enderun’s partner-establishments all over the world.

The campus, which is on two luxuriously landscaped hectares in the McKinley Hills area of Fort Bonifacio, will feature seven academic buildings with more than 7,000 square meters of classroom space. An “Embassy” will house its foreign-language faculty; a “Museum” will host the general-education faculty; a “Bank” will be home to the Enderun management faculty; and a 1,500-square-meter “Student Union” will house the Philippines’ largest management and hospitality-related library, as well as a host of student recreational facilities, lounges, meeting rooms and restaurants. The campus will also feature a student-manned luxury boutique hotel and a student dormitory, both designed to capture the grandeur and elegance of Asia’s colonial era.       

Said Jack Tuason, lead founder and chairman of the advisory board of Enderun Colleges, “With headquarters in Paris, the ADF is devoted to meeting the needs of its international customers through culinary pleasures and the art of hospitality. Through this partnership with ADF, we will develop a new culinary-arts training program for Enderun based on Alain Ducasse’s cooking philosophy.  The program, which will be available in the next school year, will offer students the most advanced cooking techniques needed to excel in the culinary field.”

Alain Ducasse is one of the first chefs to own restaurants carrying three Michelin Stars in two cities at the same time: the Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo and Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée in Paris. He has about 24 other restaurants established in four continents, including a newly opened restaurant in London (Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester), and is preparing the opening of another one in New York (at the St. Regis Hotel).  In January 2007 the Groupe Alain Ducasse took over Le Jules Verne Restaurant on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

“ADF has decided to work with Enderun because we both share the same vision of excellence and quality,” said Nicolas Toulliou, head of international training development of Groupe Alain Ducasse.  “Enderun will make sure that our philosophy will be respected, offering the students the most adapted cooking program that meets the needs of the culinary world.”

Student application for June 2008 is ongoing. Call 638-5555 or visit www.enderuncolleges.com for more information.

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