Escoffier inspired French cooking course heats up HK culinary scene

Overshadowed by the variety of Asian and western-style cuisine available in culinary capital Hong Kong, French cuisine has not yet achieved the deserved peak of its popularity in the territory.

A big leap to rectify this injustice is being made by Towngas Cooking Centre, which is offering a French culinary arts diploma programme directly based on the “Bible” of French cooking, the Escoffier Guide Culinaire, first published in 1903.

The current fourth edition of this treasured guide that represents the best of high quality French cooking is used by many of France’s most prestigious cooking schools.

While the book is the same, the variation between schools can be large.

“The difference is made by the value of the tutor, and with Vincent Leroux, we are getting the highest quality instructor. We have an additional cooking assistant for 12 culinary students, a high quality venue in Towngas Cooking Centre, plus we only use the best products and ingredients. All these together can achieve excellence,” says Robert Fontana, director of Disciples Escoffier, which is an association of world-renowned chefs.

The objective of the programme is to enable its graduates to take a position as a junior commis chef in any exclusive restaurant.

“Some famous French restaurants in Hong Kong have already shown their interest in our class and are awaiting the end of the programme to offer jobs to our students,” says Fontana.