Why PH is becoming center of hospitality training in Asia

Chef Cyrille Soenen

Chef Cyrille Soenen, in my opinion the Philippines’ No. 1 French chef, dons a new hat: director for Culinary Arts of the Dusit Hospitality Management College and DusitD2 Hotel.

Depending on your generation, you might remember chef Cyrille from Prince Albert at the Intercon, churning out the best prime rib and other fine dining fare. Or you might remember his eponymous restaurant Cicou (his nickname), opened after his Prince Albert days, at the Hotel Celeste on the corner of Makati Avenue and Pasay Road (A. Arnaiz) and later beside O.B. Montessori in Greenhills (both now closed).

At Cicou, chef Cyrille made even the simple sardines something to look forward to. Cicou also became popular for its French pastry the kouign amann, which the restaurant introduced to and popularized in Manila (you can still order this, details at the end of the article).

After a couple of years doing bistro fare for Cicou, the fine dining world beckoned again and chef Cyrille was convinced to join the Resorts World Manila group as director of culinary arts and executive chef of Impressions at Maxims Hotel. It was here that he had the most fun because he could request for any ingredient he wanted to play with: truffles, Ossetra caviar, French oysters, Rougie foie gras. You name it, and Resorts World would provide it. This resulted in truly luxurious dinners for the affluent and their lucky guests.

Chef Sebastien Charretier

Master chef

In 2015, chef Cyrille was given the highest, most prestigious title in France for a chef: that of Master Chef or the Maitres Cuisiniers de France. When I say most prestigious, I mean this: in that same year, world-renowned culinary legend Alain Ducasse, the chef with the distinction of having three Michelin starred restaurants in three cities all running at the same time, was honored with the same title.

(Incidentally, chef Ducasse, a man not only with big titles but also with a big heart, will be in Manila for a fundraising dinner on Tuesday, Nov. 27. Entitled Harvest of Hope for the Youth With A Future, this is a program of the Ducasse Education Philippines for the benefit of 10 deserving scholars. For tickets call 0920-9641628 and look for Cristina Loquinario.)

Future students of chef Cyrille will therefore have the benefit—and bragging rights—of having learned from a real master chef.

First-time students of Chef Sebastian Charretier and Chef Cyrille Soenen learn to make an authentic French pastry such as this delicate choux croquant au praline in one afternoon.

Bocuse Institut

The school where chef Cyrille will teach is the Dusit Hospitality Management College (DHMC) of the Dusit Thani Group (as in the Dusit Hotel on A. Arnaiz/Pasay Road). This will be the first college established by the group outside Thailand.

What makes the college more valuable for hospitality students is its tie-up with Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland and, for culinary students, its tie-up with the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon.

Paul Bocuse is regarded in France as the chef of the century and “the Pope of Haute Cuisine”.

“I was very lucky to work with him for a special event at the Ritz Hotel when I was an apprentice at the Ritz,” chef Cyrille recalls. “I also saw him during the Bocuse d’ Or competition when the Philippines had the privilege of joining.”

Chef Cyrille hopes to be able to pass on to his students the Bocuse standard of cooking and have them “emulate the French passion for cooking.”

Another advantage of this new culinary/hospitality school is that students will have in-house training, since the school has as its partner a hotel. They will have an “active learning approach,” a fully immersive experience at the hotel in order to develop all the skills needed to become successful chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers.

Charretier teaches his first class in the Philippines how to cook a classic Bocuse recipe: pigeon en croute

A taste of Bocuse

Last week, chef Sebastien Charretier from the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon was in town to give a few students a taste of Bocuse training. From Nov. 20 to 23, home cooks, hobbyists and professional chefs joined chef Sebastien at the Dusit Makati where they learned to cook like a master chef.

Students learned to debone a pigeon, handle foie gras and cook a choux croquant au praline. They went home very tired since it was a straight five-hour session with no breaks, but fulfilled and armed with recipes they can be proud of.

The college itself will be launched in August 2019. If you are interested to earn a bachelor’s degree at this school or to enroll in an executive program to further hone your skills, visit www.dusitcollege.ph for their course offerings.

Or visit the site and watch out for short course (1-3 days) offerings to hone your pastry skills, beverage knowledge and restaurant management skills. These will be on offer until the school formally opens its doors for the three-month to four-year programs in August 2019. A representative from the Institut Paul Bocuse will be arriving in the Philippines every three months.

With the addition of the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and the Institut Paul Bocuse through the Dusit Hospitality Management College, the Philippines is really becoming the center of hospitality training in Asia. We should be proud!

For more information on Dusit Hospitality Management College, visit www.dusitcollege.ph or facebook.com/dhmcmanila or call (02) 238 8888.