Meeting our new family
Prue Leith Chefs Academy partnered with ALMA La Scuola Internazionale de Cucina Italiana in Italy earlier this year to offer a joint-programme in which students can specialise in Italian cuisine.
Recently Prue Leith Director of Operations Anthony Roberts and Head Chef Adele Stiehler packed their bags for the land of parmesan and Parma ham on a fact finding mission to make sure our students will be in good hands once they land on foreign territory.
ALMA is situated in an old palace, affectionately nicknamed “The Little Versailles” in Colorno, a small town outside Parma. As a chef one cannot be better situated, as some of the world’s greatest delicacies are produced within a few kilometres of Colorno.
Our introductory dinner to the ALMA team was also the graduation dinner of the Korean students and seeing a DVD of the high standards of their final exam left us assured that this course yields the desired results – top notch chefs!
Prue Leith Chefs Academy is one of 13 international partners of ALMA and it was quite a relief to see the phenomenal support system in place to make sure foreign students settle in with ease and find their way around, not only when studying at ALMA but also when they are placed on practical (stage).
Housed in the old palace ALMA has fantastic facilities with state of the art kitchens that have been designed by principal Luciano Tona and are equipped for every possible need. Most impressive is the wine lecture room where each station is equipped with individual LED lights, stowaway laptops and drawers with flowing water to clear away tasted wines. Apart from lecture facilities there are two restaurant kitchens for ALMA functions and to prepare lunch for staff and students every day.
Lectures are delivered in English and all the staff speak English quite well we were pleased to find, but having a good grasp of Italian before you arrive is definitely advised as recipes are in Italian and the chefs will let you try and figure it out yourself first before helping.
Apart from a visit to the school we were also treated with a field trip similar to what students go on, first witnessing the impressive production of parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), then pasta at the Barilla factory and last but not the least the sweet nectar- traditional balsamic vinegar.
A visit to two of the prac sites or stage venues – both Michelin star restaurants was an absolute highlight to see how Italian food has evolved from regional to “high cuisine” and ALMA Dean Gualtiero Marchesi has much to do with that. As the first Italian Chef to achieve a Michelin star and the first to achieve three he is regarded as the father of Modern Italian cooking.
We were also fortunate enough to attend one of Marchesi’s lectures in which he explained his career and more significantly his creative process to students.
One thing is for sure South African students can look forward to a phenomenal education delivered by a friendly and helpful team of passionate chefs and support staff.
