École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie and Centre de Formation Alain Ducasse
New Delhi: The École Ducasse – École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (ENSP) opened again on May 12th, closely followed on May 18th by the Centre de Formation Alain Ducasse in Argenteuil. The management prepared for the reopening of its schools with the support of its medical reference specialist in prevention and public health and devoted particular attention to the implementation of the precautionary measures issued by the authorities. Students are delighted to be resuming their classes and preparations are under way for the start of the new academic year.
The crisis has revealed strong ties and a spirit of solidarity
During the closure of the training facilities, the institutions kept in touch with their students through a social media initiative named the Daily-cious challenge by École Ducasse. Launched on April 8th to contribute to the COVID-19 Emergency Aid Fund of the Fondation Hôpitaux de Paris-Hôpitaux de France, the web series is still ongoing and has to date attracted a total of nearly 500 participants on the themes of cooking and baking.
The competition is fronted by two new figures from the institution, Executive Chef Christophe Raoux, recently appointed Executive Chef of the new École Ducasse – Paris Campus, which will open this autumn near the French capital; and Luc Debove, Executive Pastry Chef of the École Ducasse – École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie. Daily-cious challenge by École Ducasse was also intended to bring to life on social media (@EcoleDucasse on Facebook and @ecole_ducasse on Instagram) the values cherished by all the École Ducasse teams: generosity and sharing.
“For us, it’s about committing ourselves and contributing to the collective effort by taking part in this battle alongside health care workers. ” says Elise Masurel, Managing Director École Ducasse.
After seven weeks of the challenge, donations now amount to nearly 10,000 euros.
Back to school under the banner of excellence
Seventy-nine students returned to the ENSP on May 12th, joined by about 15 professionals this week. To accompany the reopening of the two schools, a rigorous health protocol was drawn up on the basis of directives from the national public authorities with the aim of preventing COVID-19 health risks and creating conditions that ensure the protection and safety of all, students and employees alike. The three-pronged protocol encompasses respect for the indispensable “barrier gestures”, collective protection measures aimed at limiting the number of people within indoor areas, as well as individual protection measures. “We are pleased to see our kitchen labs come alive again and to continue our 2020 program, which has been prepared as thoroughly and passionately as in previous years. “explains Josiane Mathias, Managing Director École Ducasse – École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie.
The ENSP training program developed by Josiane Mathias and her team is rich and varied. Aimed at employees and company managers, the continuing professional training courses are led by great chefs, MOFs and world champions. The promise made to trainees is to learn alongside renowned chefs such as Jérôme Langillier, 2009 world champion, as well as recently crowned MOFs such as Patrice Ibarboure, Jonathan Mougel and Vincent Boué. In May and June, participants will thus benefit from their creativity, expertise and feedback on the exceptional challenges to which they have risen.
Held from June 2nd to 4th at the ENSP, the training course named “La Pâtisserie de Cédric Grolet” – Pastry Chef of prestigious Parisian hotel “Le Meurice” and Chef at the OPERA Pastry/Bakery in Paris (2nd arrondissement) is one of the must-attend professional training opportunities of 2020. The trainees who will take part in this event will experience an immersion into this world and will discover the technical skills and tricks of the chef, who studied at the ENSP himself.
On the Argenteuil Campus, more than thirty French and international students have returned to their culinary arts program, within training courses intended for retraining or professional development. In particular, the Essentials and the “Diploma” course are intensive programs lasting from two to nine months dedicated to those with a passion for gastronomy and covering subjects as varied as entrepreneurship, plant-based cuisine or French pastry making…
A new school year under the aegis of exceptional trainer chefs
With the support of Jessica Préalpato, patron of the Bachelor of French Pastry 2020 and Romain Meder, patron of the Bachelor of Culinary Arts 2020 – both undisputed global references in their field throughout the world – the new Bachelor programs will start on October 12th 2020.
As Elise Masurel, Managing Director École Ducasse, emphasizes: “The objective of our three-year Bachelor’s degrees is clear: to transmit unique expertise and interpersonal skills by combining practical art courses under the aegis of Alain Ducasse’s finest chef trainers with a wide range of management courses. This is designed to prepare our students to become entrepreneurial restaurant and pastry chefs with a very well-rounded profile.”
Jessica Préalpato will also give a professional development course on the theme of desseralité at the brand-new Paris Campus, as will the famous Italian-Argentinean chef Mauro Colagreco, from the Michelin three-starred Mirazur restaurant in Menton, France.
Excerpt from the 2020 training calendar
· Cédric Grolet, Pastry Chef “Le Meurice” Hotel, Paris: La Pâtisserie de Cédric Grolet (Cédric Grolet’s pastry-making)
· Patrice Ibarboure, MOF Pastry chef: L’univers sucré (The world of sweet treats)
· Jonathan Mougel , MOF Pastry chef: Pâtisserie innovante “Les petits gâteaux” (Innovative pastry-making: “cupcakes”)
· Vincent Boué, MOF Ice-cream chef: Préparez la saison, faites vos glaces (Prepare for the sunny season, make your own ice cream)
· Jérôme Langillier, world champion pastry chef: Petits gâteaux et tartes (Cupcakes and tarts)
· Jessica Préalpato, 2019 World’s Best Pastry Chef by the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” ranking: Desseralité, une vision nouvelle de la pâtisserie (Desseralité, a new vision of pastry)
· Mauro Colagreco, Chef, Le Mirazur, Mention, Le Mirazur, immseriosn dans l’univers du Meilleur Restaurant du Monde (Le Mirazur, an immersion into the universe of the World’s Best Restaurant)
For more information on the programs:
https://www.ecoleducasse.com/bachelor-arts-culinaires
https://www.ecoleducasse.com/decouvrez-le-bachelor-de-la-patisserie-francaise
http://www.ensp-adf.com/