Two of the world’s most distinguished educational institutions – Le Cordon Bleu (Paris) and Ateneo de Manila University – have merged to open a premium learning institution that will bring together the finest culinary educational programs with premium business and management expertise.
Formally inaugurated in April 5, Le Cordon Bleu Ateneo de Manila Institute’s opening ceremony was graced by distinct personalities and leaders from academe and the hotel, culinary, and tourism industries. Leading the opening rites were Ateneo President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin and Le Cordon Bleu President and CEO André Cointreau who flew in from Paris to grace the momentous event.The much-awaited inauguration is the fruition of many years of painstaking preparatory work to set up a world-class education program in the Philippines that will synergize Le Cordon Bleu’s global culinary and hospitality management curriculum with Ateneo’s liberal arts and expertise in entrepreneurship education.
This partnership between Le Cordon Bleu and Ateneo de Manila is a natural offshoot of their shared hundred-year old traditions of service and excellence and commitment to quality. Founded in 1859 by the Society of Jesus, the Ateneo de Manila is one of the oldest universities in the Philippines. Le Cordon Bleu was founded in 1895 and is the oldest culinary school in the world
Creating the premium learning experience
The Ateneo will be investing in excess of Php150 million for the two campuses planned for this joint venture effort, sparing no cost in infrastructure development, and the acquisition of top-of-the-line equipment for the two campuses.
The first facility, inaugurated last Friday, occupies over 1,000 square meters on the ground floor of the Arete in Loyola Heights QC campus. It currently includes a variety of cuisine and pastry kitchens, demonstration rooms and lecture rooms. A teaching restaurant and wine bar are slated for opening later this year.
A second facility, slated for construction in the latter half of 2019, will sit another 1,000 square meters in Ateneo Professional School Building in Rockwell Center, Makati City.
The size and scale of the facilities being constructed for LCBAI will ensure a one-is-to-one correspondence of a student to kitchen workstations, something most culinary schools are unable to provide.
LCBAI is an undertaking of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, through its Center for Continuing Education. The institute will be run under the leadership of Dean Rudy Ang and will be managed by Director Liza Morales, and Technical Director, Master Chef Thierry Le Baut.
LCBAI’s Advisory Board is composed of seasoned industry leaders – Chef Myrna Segismundo (New Manila), Chef Robby Goco (Cyma Group of Restaurants), Ms Olivia Limpe-Aw (Distilleria Limtuaco), Chef Jessie Sincioco (Chef Jessie Restaurants), Mr. Steve Tamayo (Tamayo’s Catering), and Mr. Joseph Tanbuntiong (Jollibee Foods Corporation).
Degree program, diplomas and certificates
LCBAI will be offering a four-year undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Restaurant Entrepreneurship through the John Gokongwei School of Management of the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo. This program embeds the international Le Cordon Bleu curriculum within the Ateneo liberal arts curriculum.
The Restaurant Entrepreneurship program has the same requirements for the degree as in Le Cordon Bleu’s equivalent degree anywhere in the world. Consequently, students will receive two diplomas at graduation, one from the Ateneo, and a second one from Le Cordon Bleu.
At present, there are already 22 students enrolled in the program, with a new, much larger intake of freshmen projected for August 2019.
LCBAI will also offer a wide variety of professional diploma and certificate courses including some specialized and lifestyle-oriented courses running anywhere from one day to 15 months.
The institute primarily targets those interested in professional studies in culinary arts and patisserie. At the same time, the institute is also opening itself to hobbyists, entrepreneurs, and recreational cooks. All drawn from Le Cordon Bleu’s international portfolio of programs, the future courses will include Diplome de Cuisine, Diplome de Patisserie, and Grand Diplome. These programs will be launched soon.
Many of the leaders of the hospitality industry in the country are graduates of Le Cordon Bleu programs which they had to take in one of its global campuses – in Paris, Tokyo, Australia, or somewhere to its 25 campuses worldwide. Now, these worldclass programs are available right here in Manila.
The LCBAI is now accepting students for SY 2019/2020. For inquiries, contact +632-4266001 local 5381.
