Taste of success: Chong (third from right), Le Tacon (fourth from right) and Bioteau (fifth from left) posing for a photo with the INTI and CY Cergy-Paris University team at the programme launch.
THE INTI International College Subang School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts (SOHOS) Bachelor of Food Service Management with Culinary Arts (Hons) programme will welcome its first intake next month.
Students of the programme will also be registered as students of CY Cergy-Paris University, which gives them access to three internships that can be completed in France and a two-week study tour overseas – all of which allows them to further explore French gastronomy and culture.
On top of that, facilitators from the Gastronomy Institute of CY Cergy-Paris University will also be flying in to teach students at the college campus in Subang, which will facilitate an exchange of knowledge and widen perspectives among faculty and students.
SOHOS launched the 3+0 programme in collaboration with CY Cergy-Paris University on Nov 2.
Designed to prepare students to operate a restaurant, supervise kitchen operations and manage teams working in an international environment, the programme will train students to manage various food service operations holistically with specialisation in food service management and culinary arts.
The programme, aimed at helping students develop the knowledge and skills required to handle the job and to acquire adaptability towards the constant changes in food service trends, was launched by INTI International University & Colleges chief executive officer Chong Kok Wai, CY Gastronomy and Hospitality Institute director Sébastien Le Tacon and Embassy of France in Malaysia chargée d’affaires Virginie Bioteau.
The partnership between the two institutions, said Le Tacon, involves a field that is “absolutely crucial” for both France and Malaysia.
“Food, culinary arts and gastronomy have always gathered people in every part of the world, sometimes spurring engaged and passionate debates on the process and composition of ingredients and spices of a traditional recipe.
“Culinary arts then became a science in their own rights, through transversal research in sociology, anthropology, economics, management, chemistry, and the health fields of studies,” he said, adding that fine catering and hospitality as an industry is less than a hundred years old.
As such, it requires technicians, managers, operational and strategic directors to further enhance the field’s technical aspects.
In-house training was insufficient to produce the manpower needed for the development of this industry, hence hospitality schools were designed and developed globally to train students, he explained.
“The CY Gastronomy and Hospitality Institute presents several programmes encircling the culinary arts and restaurant industry that begins from a bachelor’s degree and a professional bachelor to a master’s degree.
“With its headquarters located on the university site of Gennevilliers, France, and having a presence in Vietnam, Mexico, Mauritius and now Malaysia, the faculty incorporates values related to gastronomic excellence and culinary innovation through its programmes,” he said in a press release.
In his speech, Chong said INTI and CY Cergy-Paris University share a similar mission, which is to provide students with skills – not just hospitality competencies like culinary arts and food service management, but also critical and creative thinking skills for an entrepreneurial mindset.
“New demands, challenges and changes will require professionals and future talents who are able to face these head-on with the right attitude and skills.
“This programme is timely for a post-pandemic food service industry which requires the ability to adapt to current trends and engage in problem-solving.
“Through SOHOS, we provide students with international exposure, practical skills, as well as professional and personal development,” he said.
