Ecuador joins the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance

Created in 2004, the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance is currently an international network of 13 schools of higher education and universities throughout the world: Brazil, Canada, Chili, Colombia, Finland, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan, The United States and Ecuador, which has just joined the others.

This new partnership with the University of San Francisco de Quito (UFSQ) was made official on Friday 3 December in the presence of Carlos Játiva, Ecuador’s Ambassador to France, Mauricio Cepada, Director of the Hotel - Culinary Arts – Tourism Department at USFQ and Hervé Fleury, Director of Institut Paul Bocuse.

In the framework of its undergraduates’ programs in International Hotel & Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts & Restaurant Management, two students from the University of San Francisco de Quito are currently studying at the Institut.

Promoting the know-how of French gastronomy together, enhancing the value of the diversity of our culinary heritage and enriching each other through the culinary cultures in the world are the guiding motivations of this original and unprecedented pedagogical initiative that allows each partner to interact with all the members of the network.

Each year from May to September, the Worldwide Alliance welcomes thirty students at the Institut Paul Bocuse, who are selected from amongst the best at the member schools in order to follow exclusive training centered around a unique objective: perfecting the techniques while being immersed in French culture in an international environment and sharing in the culinary cultures of the 13 member countries.

Annual exchanges between faculty and the annual Chefs seminar also constitute highlights of the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance’s program. Next February, the 5th meeting of the Directors of the member schools will be held in Singapore. This meeting will be the occasion to forge the Alliance’s future, which is enjoying increasing success and influence: more than ever, the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance embodies the dynamics of the public recognition given to French gastronomy, which has recently been registered on the UNESCO roster for intangible world heritage.

About the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance

About the third board of directors meetings (February 26th, 2009)