2021 Diplôme de Cuisine with Internship Pathway alumnus, Aleksandar Todorović, currently works as a chef de cuisine in a restaurant in Austria which boasts 2 Gault & Millau Toques (Chef’s hats). He particularly remembers a demonstration during which he had the opportunity to assist Frédéric Simonin, a Michelin-starred chef who also holds the title of One of the Best Craftsmen in France (Meilleur Ouvrier de France - MOF). During his time as an Internship Pathway student, he was also chosen to assist contestants taking part in the “Les Trophées Le Chef – Le Concours l’Espoir de l’Année” (Le Chef Trophies - Up-and-Coming Chef of the Year) competition, organised by Le Chef magazine. The awards ceremony then took place at the Pavillon Gabriel, in the heart of the Champs-Élysées gardens, where students helped the traiteur with preparation and service. He had no difficulty finding an internship, as all three restaurants he wanted to work for offered him a position. He eventually decided on the 5* Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the Côte d’Azur, working as a chef de partie, as this gave him the opportunity to experience all the preparation stations in a kitchen.
« Working as an assistant to Chef Instructors during demonstrations gave me the opportunity to go over techniques again, almost like a private lesson. One of the positive points of the Internship Pathway is that I learnt to adapt and change my working methods depending on the team and Chef. Communication is one of the most important aspects during this period. »
Former civil engineer, Felipe Santos, graduated with a Grand Diplôme® with Internship Pathway and is currently taking the Diplôme de Boulangerie. He believes that it was very important to put the techniques learnt at the institute into practice. The pathway enabled him to speed up the learning process and be more precise and efficient when working, notably thanks to the quality of the Chef Instructors. When he began the Internship Pathway, he was responsible for prepping the classrooms and hygiene, before moving on to assist the Chefs during demonstrations. His final role was managing all the pastry preparation at Le Café. Thanks to his hard work, he was chosen to give a demonstration during a culinary workshop. To congratulate him, the Chef presented him with a chef’s hat on which was written “Thank you and well done”, an honour for Felipe. He went on to carry out his first 6-month internship at 1 Michelin-starred restaurant NESO, where he oversaw prepping for cuisine and pastry. This was followed by a second 6-month internship at the 1 Michelin-starred Le Violon d’Ingres restaurant, where he had the opportunity to work directly with chef Alain Solivérès. He was responsible for plating and the chef also gave him responsibility for the restaurant’s amuses-bouches.
«The institute fully supported me when looking for an internship, this helped me to choose the best restaurants to match my personal goals. »
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