I’ve always wanted to take culinary classes. However, budget and time are setting me back. So I was really glad that I got invited to experience a cooking demo by ADF+Enderun Chef Marc Chalopin at the Enderun Colleges.
I was excited to go the McKinley Hill where Enderun Colleges is located. The building structures really looked so awesome.
The interiors looked so beautiful too! Students are surely proud considering the topnotch education they are getting coupled with the beautiful learning environment they are in.
We even had a mini pictorial at the facility. We just couldn’t miss the chance! 😛
Aside from classrooms, laboratory rooms and demonstration rooms, Enderun Colleges also ran a restaurant called Restaurant 101. Restaurant 101 features the menu created by Enderun’s culinary faculty. It is available for lunch and dinner every mondays to saturdays. Restaurant 101 signature dishes include: Salmon Fillet, Mi-cuit, with Caper Herb Dressing and Warm Potato Salad; Lemongrass-scented Shrimp Broth Soup, with Crisp Vegetables; Chilled Tomato Soup with Basil Granité; Pompano Fillets a la Nicoise, with Tomato Fondue and Virgin Olive Oil Emulsion; Fillet of Sea Bass, Clams, Baby Squid, Shellfish, in Butter Sauce; Chicken Basquaise, with Stewed Sweet Peppers and Bayonne Ham; and Stewed Tagaytay Vegetables, with Vanilla Barigoule and Coriander.
It’s nice that there was a wedding reception happening when we visited Restaurant 101. We were totally in awe with the design and the beauty of the 240 square meter Atrium. It has high ceiling too!
If it weren’t raining that afternoon, they could have taken the outside area too. I’ll surely keep this venue in mind as it’s such a beautiful place to hold private parties!
After seeing the beautiful facilities of Enderun Colleges, I was already imagining myself studying there. I know it’s a bit impossible right now considering I don’t have the resources to do it yet. But for you my readers, I want to share the information as it’s really great if you’re interested in getting international culinary training. You’ll never know, you might be the chef of a high-class hotel or restaurant in the future!
Back in 2007, Alain Ducasse Foundation (ADF) formed an academic partnership with Enderun Colleges in the Philippines. It’s called ADF+Enderun. ADF was established by Alain Ducasse, one of the most celebrated modern French chefs. He’s one of the rare ones who run restaurants carrying three-star ratings in Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee in Paris and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester in London. ADF compiles all Alain Ducasse’s culinary methods and provides training and consultancy services to the world.
With this partnership between ADF and Enderun, students are given opportunities to take their internships in ADF training centers and in noted Alain Ducasse restaurants worldwide. Chefs from Alain Ducasse Foundation have regularly visited Enderun Colleges to train its Culinary Arts faculty to ensure that the College’s Culinary Arts education is aligned with the ADF. Cool isn’t it?
We were able to experience partially what ADF+Enderun students are going through. With the 1.5 hour demo, I noticed the ADF+Enderun philosophy in action.
- Theory
The culinary amphitheater is the venue for lectures and cooking demo. We were first introduced with a video and presentation of what ADF+Enderun is all about. All of us were seated comfortably with available mini table for jotting down notes.
- Demonstration
After the presentation, French Chef Marc Chalopin was introduced to us. Chef Chalopin was handpicked by Alain Ducasse Foundation to maintain the standards of Alain Ducasse and ensure that the philosophy, culinary principles and techniques are properly transmitted to students.
I was really glad that he was there to provide a cooking demo for us. It’s such an honor!
I love the facilities of Enderun colleges. No matter if you sit in front or at the back, you get full view of what the chef is doing. The screens show the cooking in detail plus there’s a big mirror at the back of the kitchen so we get to see clearly what’s happening.
The best part is to be able to test the chef’s creations. Don’t worry. I’ll share the recipes of the two delicious dishes presented to us yesterday. They’ll be in my next post 🙂
- Practice
The next part is for the students to practice what they learned. I wish we could experience that too but I know it’s hard to do especially with more than 20 of us bloggers invited for the cooking demo.
What’s really nice with Enderun is that only two students share one workstation. That means the students get to really practice what they learned in the demo class. There’s also a maximum number of 16 students per class.
We saw the postcards with students posing with the chef in the company they are serving internship in. Internship is really a great venue for students to apply the knowledge they acquired throughout his/her training.
The full-time program covers the various fields of culinary arts in 15 months including an opportunity for an internship in France.
Here’s the list of courses that comprise the ADF-Enderun Certificate in Culinary Arts program:
- Nutrition, Hygiene and Sanitary Systems
- Introduction to Culinary Arts
- Basic Culinary Arts
- Basic Principles of Confectionery and Pastry
- Kitchen Management
- Regional French Cuisine
- Advanced Culinary Arts
- International Hotel Catering
- Practicum
- Internship
Applications are now open for the November 2011 intake. If you have a passion for cooking, then you shouldn’t let this opportunity pass by. Go enroll now 🙂
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Enderun Colleges
1100 Campus Avenue, McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1634 Philippines
(02) 856-5000
