Learning, via online, the Ducasse-way

Learn how to make the best breads and pastries in the online classes of Executive Pastry Chef Laetitia Moreau of Enderun —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Let’s look at the bright side of life.

Thanks to forced quarantine, schools have had to squeeze their creative juices and come up with online options for students.

Enderun Colleges, in partnership with its global culinary partner École Ducasse from France, has launched the École Ducasse Online Culinary eXperience by Enderun. École Ducasse specializes in culinary and pastry arts education with lessons passed down from the legend himself, chef Alain Ducasse.

As opposed to just watching a cooking show on YouTube, this program offers customized interactive content to uphold the Ducasse Institute’s commitment to using a skills-based approach to learning.

Best of all, you get to interact with Ducasse chefs such as chef See Cheong Yan, culinary head of École Ducasse Manila; executive chef Marc Chalopin; and executive pastry chef Laetitia Moreau.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the joy of joining a class with chef Laetitia, who taught students how to make Italian grissini (bread sticks).

It was fascinating to watch her answer questions from students, an experience you can only have with an interactive class.

She advised that only you, as the cook, would be able manage the dough and the texture so you must find a solution whether to rotate the tray or adjust the temperature: “You are the chef; the dough is not the chef.”

Another student asked if kneading by hand is better than using a mixer.

She replied it was important to knead manually because when you knead by hand, you would feel the texture and temperature and you could adjust accordingly. But once you understand the process, only then could you venture out to using a machine.

Aside from personal expert advice like this that you cannot get in a noninteractive setting, students are also given access to virtual activities and discussion boards. If you successfully finish the course, you earn a digital badge issued by École Ducasse Manila.

The program is ongoing and the current recipes in the curriculum include char siu pork bun, lamb tajine, Hainanese chicken, chicken fricassee, and crustaceans and salmon stew. It also includes pastry recipes such as for Italian grissini, sourdough donuts, crepe suzette and creme brulee, New York cheesecake, Italian focaccia, and sacher torte.

If you enroll in the short course, a culinary kit will be delivered to you. Then you can take the hands-on class on your own time and attend a live session via Zoom.

This would certainly be beneficial for those who want to start a food business, for those who want to up their cooking game, or even for those who are simply bored and want to learn new recipes.

Who says that we can’t be productive in quarantine? On the contrary, there are now so many options for learning and personal growth. We just have to always look at the bright side of life.

École Ducasse Online Culinary eXperience by Enderun. For information, visit www.enderunextension.com; email [email protected] or call 0917-1301000.

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