By Bryle B. Suralta
Le Cordon Bleu (Paris), one of the world’s most esteemed culinary institutions, formally inaugurated its first venture in the Philippines. Through its partnership with Ateneo de Manila University, both esteemed institutions introduce the Le Cordon Bleu Ateneo de Manila Institute (LCBAI) at the university’s Arete building, Loyola Heights campus.
“We fondly call it ‘a marriage of blues’—a marriage of two institutions that stand for excellence,” says Ateneo Professional Schools vice president Antonette Palma-Angeles.
Ateneo de Manila will be investing in excess of P150 million for the two campuses planned for this joint venture. LCBAI’s first facility in Loyola Heights occupies more than 1,000 sq. m. It currently includes a variety of cuisine and pastry kitchens, demonstration rooms and lecture rooms. A teaching restaurant and wine bar are also slated to open later this year.
The other facility will be up for construction in the latter half of 2019, and will also sit on a 1,000-sq. m. space at the Ateneo Professional Schools Building at Rockwell Center in Makati City.
With the partnership comes a new education program that combines Le Cordon Bleu’s global culinary and hospitality management curriculum and Ateneo’s liberal arts expertise in entrepreneurship education.
Palma-Angeles adds: “With a degree in Restaurant Entrepreneurship, a student will get the Ateneo’s famous holistic liberal arts education and LCB’s long tradition of gastronomy and management expertise.”
Under the leadership of Ateneo Graduate School of Business dean Rodolfo Ang, the daily operations of LCBAI will be managed by institute director Liza Morales, and its technical director, Master Chef Thierry Le Baut.
The LCBI is set to “help upgrade the skills and expertise of local food enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.” Its initial offering is a four-year undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Restaurant Entrepreneurship through the John Gokongwei School of Management.
This program focuses on “integrating theory and hands-on practical experience with strong management and service orientation.” It will provide a global perspective into cuisine, gastronomy and hospitality management. The Restaurant Entrepreneurship program will have the same requirements for the degree as Le Cordon Bleu’s equivalent degree elsewhere in the world.
Students who graduate from the program will receive two diplomas when they graduate, one from Ateneo and a second one from Le Cordon Bleu.
With help from the Center for Continuing Education of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, LCBAI will also be offering a wide range of professional diploma and certificate courses, including specialized and lifestyle-oriented courses. Among the future courses include Diplomme de Cuisine, Diplomme de Patisserie and Grand Diplomme.
In addition, the launch of the LCBAI coincides with Ateneo’s 160th anniversary, making it one of the oldest schools in the country. Le Cordon Bleu, meanwhile, is one of the oldest culinary school in the world, founded in 1895.
“We are truly privileged to join the Le Cordon Bleu network. We do share the same color, the blue of Mary—marian blue,” Ateneo De Manila University president Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, S.J. shares with a laugh. “Old does not have to mean out of touch, old can mean experience, wisdom, old can mean endurance, adaptability.”
The LCBAI is now accepting students for school year 2019-2020. For more information, contact (+632)426-6001-local-5381.
