Classes conducted in the Coffee /Tea Academy
Students learning the finer details
Celebrity Chef Martin Yan with At-Sunrice graduates
Established in 2001 by Dr. Kwan Lui, Founder of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, (At-Sunrice) is one of the first culinary academies in Singapore to be awarded the National Continuing Education and Training Institute (NCI) accreditation, which allows At-Sunrice to administer nationally-recognised diplomas. Today, At-Sunrice is also EduTrust certified and conferred by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to develop and manage the Integrated CET Centre for Culinary and F&B Service.
Educating on its principle of bringing the best of Eastern and Western culinary arts, students are trained on the Old World and New World techniques, on herbs and spices and innovation & technology. Students learn to juggle both school and work and on developing soft skills like service quality, attitude and timeliness – all core values in the hospitality industry.
Truly global with a multitude of nations represented in its academy, At-Sunrice continues to mould graduates to be world-level F&B professionals, stamping their mark wherever they are.[hr]
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CHEF CHRISTOPHE MEGEL
Academy’s restaurant –
a relaxed gathering ground for the students
Academy’s Library –
a dedicated resource bank for students
CHRISTOPHE MEGEL
Born and bred in France. Conferred the title of French Masterchef. Yet he authored the 2006 “Best Asian Cuisine Book in the World” at the Gourmand World Media Award for “Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavours”. Chef Christophe Megel proves that culinary definitely crosses boundaries of ethnic backgrounds. Having worked with the famed Alain Ducasse and with experiences in Monaco, New York and Japan, Chef Megel is now expanding his expertise to educating and exploring the managerial side with his role as Chief Executive Officer in At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy. Chef Megel recently sat down with us and shared thoughts on his work and the industry.
On At-Sunrice…
Our students are exposed to a unique “Study & Work pedagogy” where students enrolled in a diploma programme experiences a 1 week/2 weeks study and work rotation from term 2 onwards and receives a monthly apprenticeship allowance of S$1,400* co-funded by the WDA. With that preparation in place, we asked the chef if graduates opening an outlet fresh out of school is a good idea? To which he says, it’s an individual perspective. “You should know if you are equipped and do you have what it takes to operate one?” And thanks to reality shows featuring chefs, the industry is glamourised and Chef Megel sees it as an impact on the position where people are looking at this position as a real career compared to before.
* Terms & conditions apply. Applicable for Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents.
On the industry…
With experiences from various regions, Chef Megel surmises that there is no big difference between Europe, United States or Asia except geographical, culture and language as hospitality in his eyes means “having the passion to ensure that your guests are always well taken care of”.
While the industry is booming, he opines that it still lacks character identification as he believes that character and talent helps in positioning someone in an ideal place to be honed bringing them to their fullest potential. On the other hand, entrepreneurs are increasingly eager to open eateries, seeing it as cash rich but what impact does it have on the industry? Chef Megel agrees that while anyone can be successful, a restaurant or hospitality business is not just knowing how to cook but takes into account marketing, figure crunching, service and many more. What about the chefs? As the public’s discernment on gastronomy grows more sophisticated, what are the challenges they encounter? “Factors like lifestyle, trends and demographic influence the taste palate of a person to change all the time..and dramatically for some. A person could enjoy a quick service lunch of less than 30 minutes or spend a few hours in fine dining” thus the challenge in adapting to such environments.
To Chef Megel, “Cooking is more than shaking pans and peeling carrots. You must understand what cooking is all about and the meaning and importance of recipes even before attempting to cook the dish”
[box style=”rounded” border=”full”] For more information, please visitour website at www.at-sunrice.com
At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy
28 Tai Seng Street, Level 5,
Singapore 534106
Tel: (65) 64166688
Connect with us:
Facebook.com/atsunrice
Twitter.com/atsunrice
Youtube.com/atsunriceglobalchef
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