Last Saturday, I was invited to be part of Enderun Colleges’ Exclusive Bloggers Event. This event is done to showcase the culinary expertise of the College in partnership with Alain Ducasse Formation. The Academic partnership between them is called ADF+Enderun bounds to elevate culinary education not only in the Philippines but in the whole Southeast Asia.
The event was held in the culinary amphitheatre located in their culinary center building. It is located on the second floor next to their bookstore.
The Chef who demonstrated his expertise was Chef Marco Chalopin, executive chef of ADF+Enderun Colleges.
MEET THE CHEF
Alain Ducasse Formation handpicked French Chef Marco Chalopin as the ADF+Enderun executive chef, to maintain the standards of Alain Ducasse and ensure that the philosophy, culinary principles and techniques are properly transmitted to students. Before joining Enderun, he has had 25 years of kitchen and teaching experience. He worked with two of the most exceptional and world-acclaimed chefs, Joel Robuchon first and then with Alain Ducasse at the 59 Poincare of Le Relais de Parc. He worked again for three years with Joel Robuchon and six years with Louis Grondard in restaurant Drouant, where the academy that confers the French literary award Prix Goncourt converges annually. He also worked with Alain Reix at the Eiffel Tower restaurant Le Jules Verne in Paris. After many years of experience in the restaurants, he decided to transmit his know-how joining Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then as its opening executive chef in Seoul, South Korea. Chef Chalopin joined Alain Ducasse Formation and Enderun in 2008 to supervise the culinary program in Manila, control the quality of instructors and currculum, teach advanced culinary classes, as well as partner with suppliers to get the best produce, materials and equipment availbale.
The afternoon’s demo gave us an idea of how it is to be a culinary student for a day. It was such an awesome experience being in a student of an internationally known French chef for a day. I felt like I was part of Hell’s Kitchen or the Master Chef’s culinary classes.
The amphitheatre was equipped with state of the art facilities and complete tools and utensils for Chefs to teach their students as well as students being able to execute the techniques being taught. It has wide screens available to be able to see a close-up view of what is being done during the demo. I really appreciated the class by looking thru those wide screens. No wonder students here learn a lot from the chefs.
The Chef showcased 2 recipes: Chocolate Liegeois and Shrimp Tartar Burger. It was a 1.5 hour demo but we ate those in less than 10mins! Hahaha!
The first demo was the Chocolate Liegeois. This recipe entails 5 major ingredients: Chocolate Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce, Coffee and Rum Granite, Chantilly Cream and Nougatine. Each of these major ingredients was made from scratch by Chef Marco.
He recommended that we buy our own ice cream makers because creating our own ice cream is better than buying from the groceries. Also, he noted that when we do the Coffee and Rum Granite, we can add more alcohol if we want it to taste stronger than the coffee. It should be mixed when it is still hot to be able to strengthen the alcohol’s taste.
The second demo was the Shrimp Tartar Burgers. This recipe has only 3 major ingredients excluding the garnish compared to the first one: Tartar Sauce, Sundried Tomatoes and Shrimp Patty. Again, each of these ingredients was made by Chef Marco from scratch.
From this recipe, I learned that making your own Sun Dried Tomato is far better than buying it straight from the stores. However, it requires you bake the tomatoes for 4 hours to have a good tasting sun dried tomato. If you have the time, go do it by your own. It really tastes better!
The preparation and the attention to detail by Chef Marco made me understand why fine dining restaurants charge us twice as much as the ordinary dishes we can have in ordinary restaurants. The amount of effort that the chefs exert in making the dishes makes it worth the price. This was a realization for me and inspired me to save some money and try those fine dining restaurants available in the country. I also want to taste the good life.
After the learning and gastronomic experience, we had a campus tour. It was fun being part of this because I felt like I was a freshmen again touring around the College. The Enderun College has 3 buildings in their campus, namely Culinary Center, College of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship and the Hotel Administration Center.
Culinary Center
This is the biggest building in the campus where the students of the College of Hospitality Management are located. They offer the course Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management (BS-IHM) with Specialization in Culinary Arts or Hotel Administration.
Inside the center, you’ll see the amphitheater, their restaurant, the library and the kitchen rooms. If I remembered it correctly, they only have a maximum of 16 students per class. So imagine the hands-on experience and training they have in this institution.
Hotel Administration Center
The building is across the Culinary center and just right beside the College of Business building.
College of Business and Entrepreneurship
The College offers BS Business Administration and a number of majors for the course. They have Major in Finance and Wealth Management, Business Process Management and Consulting or Marketing Management. They also have BS Entrepreneurship with Focus on Family Enterprise.
One of the benefits of studying in an international school is having the opportunity to do your intern in a partner University or College abroad. You can have your internship or even your training in wherever country you want as long as your credentials are recognized. There was a bulletin board inside the college where they displayed the pictures of students who are currently abroad doing their internship.
It was a very productive and informative day for everyone. This day brings back memories of high school when I dreamt of studying in an international school. I never regret I graduated from a University but I always find it interesting to have multi-cultural classmates and exchange your ideas and views in certain topics. I think it will help students to become aware and be exposed to other cultures. It will make learning more fun and exciting.
Nevertheless, that day made me feel I was part of Enderun Colleges and was able to experience how to be an international student even for just a day. A world-class culinary experience!
Recipes can be downloaded here: Chocolate Liegeois and Shrimp Tartar Burger
Enderun Colleges
1100 Campus Avenue
McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio
Taguig City 1634 Philippines
Telephone (632) 856 5000
Facsimile (632) 856 4656
Email: admissions@enderuncolleges.com
Website: http://www.enderuncolleges.com/
Online Accounts:
Enderun Colleges’ Facebook Page
Enderun Colleges’ Twitter Account
Disclaimer: This post is not paid. It reflects only the honest and truthful opinion and actual experience of the author.
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