Setting up a sustainable culinary school restaurant

(Part II)

In two years time the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD 2005-2014) will run out. The United Nations intended it to reinforce the UNMDG (2000-2015) National plan of Action for each member state like the Philippines. It is quite a tall order for poor developing countries, but the non-political arm of the UN system, UNESCO, believes that it is through the re-engineering of the conventional education into a developmental system of education that would enable each citizen through the formative years to develop his/her full potential to fend for oneself and to be self sustainable so that “the new man will emerge, the citizen who will no longer be the victim of events but thanks to his clarity of vision, will be able to mold and shape the future of mankind.”

The latest UN country report stated that out of the six UNMDG goals, the Philippines is not likely to achieve access to quality primary education and to decrease maternal and infant mortality.

Popularizing sustainable education

For the past 45 years since I founded Operation Brotherhood Montessori schools, we have consistently proven that the Montessori system is the alternative system of education that can condition Filipino children as early as preschool to become self sufficient and acquire academic competence two years ahead of the existing standards. The public witnessed this in a thrice a week ABS-CBN TV weekly television show beamed throughout the country, but Martial Law interrupted it. Still, I was able to continue popularizing it in different regions as a UNESCO commissioner since the ’80s. In 1990, I was appointed to the EDCOM ECE technical panel and the National Literacy Coordinating Council and member of delegation to the Geneva Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC).

The UNMDG national plan of action from former President Arroyo to our current President Benigno Aquino III reveals an intense effort to make Filipinos employable believing that it would eradicate poverty. Still, important aspects of skill training have been sadly overlooked. TESDA, as a major partner of DepEd and CHED has not consistently upheld the school requirements for a well-equipped school and laboratory, qualified technical instructors nor applied strict admission rules for students. Several TESDA graduates do not qualify as professionals so they fail to acquire gainful employment.

Establishing Istituto Culinario

Now that we are transforming our OBMC Culinary College to Istituto Culinario with its ladderized two-year course, let me recall how it was in 1995 when we first started it as O.B. Montessori College with the Ristorante La Dolce Fontana as its practicum laboratory.

Arthur Lopez, the hotelier who has been setting up Sheraton Hotels all over Asia and Australia, was our major consultant before we opened up Ristorante La Dolce Fontana. He stressed three essential factors, which must be met, namely, a well designed establishment with a pleasant looking dining room and bar for at least a hundred customers (preferably with a function room for 40 people), and a well equipped kitchen.

Our 12-year experience with four O.B. Professional Highschool bistros helped. Each had a well-furnished kitchen, stainless food counters, computerized cash register, and a modern dining room. Filipino chefs assist their Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) teachers. To meet international standards, Mr. Lopez who has just set-up the Belleview Hotel in Alabang and three Waterfront Hotels in the country, reiterated that we put up the hot and cold kitchens. The former has four ovens with four burners, a walk-in freezer/chiller, automatic dish washer, four small chillers, salamander, a pantry for plates and two others for dry goods. For the cold kitchen, a brick stone pizza oven was installed and salad and dessert preparation tables. It was adjacent to the deli, which sold focaccia sandwich, pastries, pizza and fresh fruit slush.

On hiring foreign professionals

For the restaurant manager and executive chef, we hired two Italians: the manager, a native of Venice, used to be an executive chef in Peninsula Manila, while the chef, from Livorno, Italy was already involved with two Italian eateries in Makati.

During the first month, the Livornese chef tried to train our six Filipino cooks, but failed to visit and monitor more than twice. To make matters worse, he recommended their second hand, 3m x 1 1/2m pastry chiller – which wasn’t cool enough to keep our cold cuts and desserts fresh. Fully confident that he is controlling the purchase of food and machines, we were not aware that he has also sold us gallons of old olive oil and a six-cup espresso coffee maker meant for a much bigger restaurant.

In the middle of the year, our bartender had to confess, lest he be charged, that our Venetian manager was using the best wines to treat his gang to late weekend drinking bouts. Moreover, he regularly took home bottles of special wine. Thus, we terminated their contract. (We tried to hire another European chef, this time an Austrian, I also had to let him go because he kept his recipes a trade secret and refused to upgrade our Filipino cooks.)

Happy outcome in spite of disappointments

Finally we were able to hire our current manager, Isabel Espina, a graduate of Food Service at SITC Tete de Ran, La Chaud de Fond and Alpina Hotel and Restaurant Manage – School in Lenzerheide, Graubunden Switzerland. Upon return to the Philippines, she worked at Manila Hotel, Westin Philippine Plaza, Puerto Azul, Asiaworld Plaza Hotel Taipei, Doña Nena and became manager of Barcelona Restaurant. She competently managed the cooks and restaurant staff and developed both ala carte, set menu and buffet that became popular throughout Metro Manila.

My husband, Max V. Soliven, then publisher, editor and columnist of Philippine STAR, held regular MOPC breakfast forums featuring popular and controversial politicians and businessmen. Internationally funded seminars were also held at the restaurant. It became a delightful venue for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and baptisms.

With the culinary college students, mastering the Montessori formula and principles of the Prepared Environment, Engineering of Movement, Mistakes and Their Corrections, while preparing continental and oriental cuisines in addition to frequenting RLDF for their practicum, they were always part of major food service competitions every year. They looked really smart and mature wearing the beige college suit and dark brown pants, that many thought they were the judges. Almost all the time they would win silver and gold awards.

Chef Cyrille Soenen, the Istituto partner for apprenticeship

Last week, I announced that this second article would be about the different positions in the restaurant that prepares one to be a professional chef. Chef Cyrille is our partner in the Istututo Culinario for the cooking school apprenticeship program. His distinguished track record is evidence of how one becomes an exemplary chef.

Chef Cyrille rose from the ranks as a professional when he passed the “Certificat d Aptitude Professionelle” exam and became 1st commis as a pastry maker of Drouant, Rue Gaillon – 75002, Paris France in 1987 to 1989, while he also became a cook at the Ministry of Defense as he entered the obligatory military service. The following year, he became Chef de Partie at Croisieres Paquets at Geneva Switzerland, then left to work at Chez Faucher, a Michelin star gastronomique restaurant at Avenue de Wagram in Paris.

Between 1991 to 1996, he worked at famous Ritz Hotel at its two-star Michelin, “Restaurant L’ Espadon”, Place Vendome, Paris. From 1996 to 1999, he shifted to another renowned Le Grande Hotel – Inter-Continental, in its two star Michelin, Café de la Paix, right beside the Paris Opera House. He co-managed this with a colleague.

Chef Cyrille finally came to Manila in 2000 to become the chef of the luxurious Prince Albert of Hotel Inter-Continental, Manila until 2002, when he advanced to Executive Sous Chef of the hotel, then full time Executive Chef from 2002 to 2005. Afterwards, he opened the Hotel Crowne Plaza, Galleria in 2005 and was its Executive Chef until 2008. From 2009 to 2010, he established his own Restaurant Cicou at Hotel Celeste in Makati.

It is the pride of Istituto Culinario to have Chef Cyrille convert the Ristorante La Dolce Fontana into his own Brasserie Cicou, within the new two-story college building, at the corner of Annapolis and Eisenhower St., Greenhills.

(Part III: Successful Placements of Cooking School Graduates)