Culinary pioneer also goes 'green'

MANILA, Philippines - Only one institution in the country can prove its claim as the leader, pioneer and innovator in culinary education.

The Center for Culinary Arts (CCA, Manila) gives the Philippines the distinction of being the first country in the Asia-Pacific region and the second outside America (apart from Switzerland) to have academic programs accredited by the prestigious American Culinary Federation Foundation (ACF).

The ACF accreditation, the first given in 2006, is for CCA, Manila’s flagship short courses — the one-year program on Baking and Pastry Arts and two-year programs in Culinary Arts and Technology.

ACF is a premier professional chefs’ organization based in North America with 230 chapters and 19,000 members in the US. Sanctioned by the Council on Higher Education for Accreditation, ACF is the only recognized organization to accredit culinary arts, baking and pastry programs in the US.

This year, CCA, Manila’s giant strides in culinary education got more recognition and validation from the world’s industry leaders through a re-accreditation of a number of its programs by the ACF.

Stringent Process

Peter Kimball, ACF accreditation manager, says the schools that avail of their programmatic accreditation for culinary arts, baking and pastry programs undergo a very stringent evaluation process. While any culinary school can apply for an ACF accreditation, only a chosen few can pass their standards.

“First, the school should submit a thorough self-study evaluation on the programs to be accredited,” explains Kimball. “We study this report and then we personally visit the school to validate what was written in the evaluation. We evaluate the program based on established standards, competencies and skills sets required to be evident in the curriculum. We look at facilities, curriculum and the faculty. We also judge the effectiveness of the program based on the outcome of the graduates and where they are in the industry.”

A team composed of Kimball, a culinary educator and a chef conduct the evaluation process. The accreditations are given for a three-year, five-year and seven-year duration, depending on the result of the evaluation.

At Par With World Standards

A world of opportunities and benefits awaits graduates of schools who have ACF accreditation. 

“One of the great benefits for CCA, Manila students of accredited programs is the fact that their education is at par with other programs across the world. Also, upon graduation or completion of the program, they can earn an industry certification for free. Indeed, students reap the benefits of having CCA, Manila as their school, which has accredited programs. It’s the most far-reaching accreditation,” Kimball points out.

CCA, Manila has so far proved that it continues to uphold the standards that it has established since its first accreditation.

According to Michael Ty, ACF national president, CCA, Manila has further improved its standards, particularly in its facilities and kitchen equipment.

“They have very good facilities,” he says. “In some respects, they even have some better facilities than those we have in America. In sanitation, students are doing a very good job in cleaning their areas and in following a waste segregation program in their kitchens. Another is the ideal student to teacher ratio — 15 students to one faculty member. This allows the teacher to have more time to work with every student. Most importantly, CCA, Manila has a great support structure. Susana Guerrero, founder of CCA, Manila obviously shows that they want to be on the forefront. She’s the pioneer in culinary schools here. The overall picture of the school has been positive.”

He also lauded CCA, Manila’s faculty who are very passionate, dedicated to their craft and to doing a good job grooming their students for the industry.

Going Green

Kimball, on the other hand, cited CCA, Manila’s pioneering eco-center, which clearly espoused its initiative on sustainability.

The eco-center is the brainchild of Guerrero. It is managed by The Cravings Group, the group of companies to which CCA, Manila belongs, with the support of the community in the area. In addition to providing CCA, Manila and its sister hotels and restaurants with fresh organic produce, the eco-center also provides livelihood and recycling training as well as eco-tours of the site.

Another pioneering initiative of CCA, Manila is its green chef-manship program, which educates participants on how to green their kitchen and lessen their carbon footprint.

“I’m really glad to see that CCA, Manila is among those who have started this sustainability effort, which is the biggest trend in culinary education worldwide,” notes Kimball. “This is the inclusion and adaptation of sustainability into the curriculum. For example, we should take precautions so water is not wasted, and key products used are sourced locally. These are done by developing different methods to really become sustainable, whether it’s about waste management or recycling programs, among others.”

“The ACF accreditation is the best thing that happened to our school,” says Guerrero. “Since year one of CCA, Manila, we worked for this. It is the direction that I have always wanted the school to take. I am so glad that we have achieved the highest vision for the school.”

For inquiries about CCA, Manila, call 426-4840 to 41, e-mail marketing@cca-manila.com or visit: www.cca-manila.com. The CCA, Manila Campus is located along 287 Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.