International Diploma in Professional Culinary Arts & Baking and Pastry - is a one year program which is designed for the student who is serious about seeking a position in the culinary industry in the shortest possible time. The
hands-on learning and in-depth knowledge the student will receive in this program will prepare him to become a professional chef by ensuring that his potential is maximized thereby raising the bar of his career possibilities.
Outline
Here are the modules covered by the program.
Module 1: Food Safety & Sanitation
The course starts with a lecture stressing the importance of sanitation, characteristics and causes of food borne illness, and preventing unsanitary conditions. Aside from this, students are also trained by the Philippine Red Cross to prepare them during emergency
situations.
Module 2: Basic Culinary Skills
Knife handling is one of the most basic building blocks in culinary arts. Whether it’s the students first time in the kitchen or not, the 16-session module will help them sharpen their basic skills with greater consistency and confidence. Class begins with
a tutorial on proper posture and knife handling. Kitchen terminology will become their second language. After a series of slicing and dicing, students then will sharpen their skills in deboning chicken, beef, and pork as well as filleting fish. They are trained
to create great soups with its basic stocks even without using recipes.
Module 3: Food Science
This module presents a more advanced technique in food preparation. Topics covered include breakfast foods, rice, beans, potatoes, and the basic cooking techniques such as blanching, braising sautéing, etc. Mastery of cooking technique is an essential yet a
difficult aspect of the culinary craft. These dry heat, moist heat, and combination heat cooking methods are taught carefully as students produce great treasures in the kitchen.
Module 4: Garde Manger
Students get to be creative at this module as they prepare their hot and cold hors d’oeuvres. They will learn how to make their own sausages, pâtés, rillettes, ham, and confit. With various methods on curing, salting, and smoking, working with seasonings and
casings will be explored. At the end of the course, students get to share their sumptuous spread of mouthwatering dishes to their families and friends as they prepare a buffet for the guests.
Module 5: Wellness Cooking
Being healthy is more than being physically fit. This course offers a comprehensive review of food, nutrients and nutrition. Major nutrient classes (such as carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals) and the relationship of food and nutrients to areas
of current interest (including diets and weight control) will be discussed. Students will also practice cooking and serving food simultaneously.
Module 6: Eastern Cuisines
The collection of Asian flavors has a large influence on all types of food. Students will explore new ingredients from different Asian regions and learn their proper application. Asia’s favorite dishes will be thoroughly explained and cooked so students can
easily take their new knowledge to their own kitchen and continue their culinary journey throughout Asia.
Module 7: Western Cuisines
Regional food is central to an exciting cuisine. In this course, students will learn the basic skills and knowledge of Western culinary arts through theory, practical workshops and immersion in the rich and diverse heritage of classical cuisines from France,
Italy, Spain and Greece just to name a few.
Module 8: American Cuisines
Cuisines covered in this module reflects foods commonly identified with culinary regions throughout North as well as South America. Students will prepare various American Cuisines, which employ basic culinary principles, concepts and quality standards. In this
module, students will also learn about wine appreciation wherein they will improve their wine tasting skills.
Module 9: Baking & Pastry
Do your fantasies involve sweets and desserts that make you tingle? Introduction to baking and pastry will help students handle pastries with grace and understand the beauty of desserts. Guided by the school’s pastry chef, this module covers the preparation
of yeast dough products, chocolates, simple pastries, pies, cookies, and basic dessert sauces. And at the end of the day, the final product shows how much effort you put into it.
Module 10: Externship
At the end of their in-class training, all students are assigned an externship. The program will help them with their careers in the future. This is to give students a short actual experience in the kitchen. An application is usually required in hotels and
restaurants where students are interviewed by the institution. This can also help students learn more about effective techniques for achieving employment. With the required 600 hours of training, it is a chance for them to observe, ask questions and gain hands
on learning within the hotel or restaurant in order to meet their professional goals.
Module 11: TESDA Assessment, Final Exam
Students are tested on what they learned in the whole course with a comprehensive final exam in the lecture room and in the kitchen.
Speaker/s
Mats Loo
Having begun his career at the tender age of 14 in his native Sweden, Mats entered another stage in his life when he founded First Gourmet Academy with his partners. As an instructor, he is recognized for his strong grasp of culinary fundamentals and
global standards, a result of honing his skills in several Michelin star restaurants around the world such as the Villa Källhagen in Stockholm, Westra Piren in Gothenburg, Sweden and Le Meridien in Piccadilly, London. At the Restaurant Akademin in Sweden,
he worked with the academic head to offer further educational courses for restaurant professionals. He then mastered the nuances of mass production, purchasing, food chemistry and international flavors working as an Executive Chef in several cruise ships for
10 years, including the MS Endeavour and MS Polaris. He shares his knowledge and passion with future culinary artists through his First Gourmet Academy classes.
Ziggy Segunial
Asian cuisines as well as healthy food and nutrition are something that Ziggy knows a lot about. He has been in the culinary profession for almost 20 years. His previous work at Philippine Airlines Inflight Catering developed his skills in preparing
special food (based on different diets), wellness and balanced meals, as well as individual preferences. He has also done a lot of consulting jobs for Asia Pacific and Far East Hotel Consultancy Company. His culinary career also took him to South Korea and
Vancouver, Canada to work for a well-known Korean international restaurant chain which specializes on the standards of fast food business and franchising. At the moment, he is handling our Fundamentals of Culinary Arts short course, Asian cuisine courses,
and courses focused on healthy food.
Marie Bonus
Marie Bonus has been a baker and an artist by heart since her grade school years. Growing up, she has excelled and pursued her passion for both crafts – first by finishing college with a degree in Fine Arts and later by getting her diploma in Pastry
Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Her combined passion for both arts opened a lot of opportunities for her to enhance her expertise at famous restaurants and patisserie shops such as Financier Patisserie, David Burke at Bloomingdales
and the world-class restaurant Nobu, all located in the Big Apple.
Mary Anne Picazo
Her love for arts and design led this Entrepreneurship graduate to her passion in Culinary Arts. Right after her formal training in First Gourmet Academy, she flew right away to a Celebrity Chef’s restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana to further explore,
experience and hone her purpose driven passion in Culinary Arts. Her love for creating exquisite dishes led her to further immerge herself to the global culinary scene which nourished, developed and mastered her skills even more. Working in a fine dining
restaurant in Sydney, Australia, under a team led by a Japanese Iron Chef helped her develop wisdom and skills in multitasking, teamwork, organization and menu building etc. After several years of hard work in a demanding and fast paced kitchens, she further
realized her calling and responsibility - to share her experiences with the next generation students at First Gourmet Academy.
Jojo Bolivar
Jojo Bolivar, a graduate of BS Hotel and Restaurant Management, decided to pursue his love for the culinary arts and decided that First Gourmet Academy was the right school for him. After graduating, he was able to work immediately as a Cook and Food & Beverage
Supervisor in a local hotel. There, he was able to further hone and develop his skills and knowledge in the field especially in food costing and menu development. Afterward, he managed to get an opportunity to work in Saudi Arabia as a Commis Chef was assigned
to the hot kitchen and breads which help further expand his knowledge to both areas which lead him to be promoted to the position of Demi Chef de Partie. He spent quite a lot of time working abroad and when he came back, he accepted the offer given to him
to share his acquired experiences and knowledge to the aspiring students of First Gourmet Academy.
Thomas Paul
He has been in the field of Culinary Arts for almost 40 years. He started as a Commis de cuisine at Hotel International, and served the German Army where he was elected as a cook. He studied after, and became a certified culinary instructor. He continued with
his career, worked and at the same time traveled the world through food. Some of these places are Treasure Island at Las Vegas, Bellagio, The Shore Club, Mandalay Bay and The Mansion MGM Grand.
Special Offer
Early Bird Promo
Enroll for as low as Php185K for a diploma course!
Senior High School (SHS) Promo
Get an additional PHP10,000 if you are a Senior High School (SHS) graduate!*
Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) Promo
Get an additional PHP10,000 if you are an Undergraduate or Fresh Graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) course!*
Referral Program
Get up to Php15,000 for every successful enrollee! Valid for student and alumni only*
*Applicable in both branches
