University celebrates 25 years of hospitality and tourism school

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IT WAS a night of glamour, music and tantalising French cuisine as Taylor’s University School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts (TCHT) kickstarted their silver jubilee celebration with the “Symphony of Chefs” — a celebration of gastronomical proportions.

In a celebration themed, “A Stellar Past, A Brighter Future”, the largest and most established hospitality and tourism management school in South-East Asia promises a more vibrant and exciting future, while celebrating its achievements together with TCHT’s staff, students, alumni members as well as partners and industry experts.

The celebration culminated in an evening of fine cuisine, where the stars of the night were a trio of well-known chefs or “craftsmen” with the coveted title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF).

The celebrated MOF craftsmen flew in all the way from France to work with TCHT students and lecturers a day before the event, to coach them in preparing delectable French dishes with a slight Asian twist, including such delights as the foie gras tandoori with cauliflower fireworks and the smoked salmon waffles with a veloute of coconut and ginger flower.

One for the album!: TCHT students with the invited guests at the end of the Symphony of Chefs event in conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebration.

The students and lecturers were thrilled with the opportunity to learn from the renowned chefs — Robert Bertolino, Jean-Luc Danjou and Chantal Wittmann — who shared their secrets to preparing delicious French gastronomic meals and the French way of servicing.

Earlier in the day, a symposium entitled “French and Malaysian Gastronomy in Perspective” provided a platform for knowledge-sharing with renowned gastronomy specialists and academics from France.

The symposium saw some industry experts flown all the way from France to share on how gastronomy meals can become Unesco world intangible heritage.

According to TCHT dean Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, the event marked a wonderful and meaningful start to the school’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

“It is wonderful to kick off our 25th anniversary celebrations by celebrating and learning about food, which is the heart of Malaysia.

“What more, to have three MOF “craftsmen” here to personally coach our students and lecturers, and oversee the dining preparations for this event, is remarkable,” he said.

“In the past 25 years, TCHT has produced countless successful graduates who have become valuable members of the industry both locally and abroad.

“This is largely due to the strength of our education and training programmes, quality of our faculty, top class facilities and hands-on learning approach.

“We definitely look forward to setting new benchmarks in the industry for many more years to come,” Neethia said.

French Acting Ambassador to Malaysia Laurent Le Marchand, attended the event with rector of Toulouse Academie Professor Olivier Dugrip, University of Toulouse 2 president Professor Daniel Filatre, University of Toulouse 2 vice-president Professor Pierre-Yves Boisseau, and Malaysia-France University Centre (MUFC) director Dr Mathieu Guerin.

Also present at the event were Taylor’s Education Group chief executive officer Datuk Loy Teik Ngan, Taylor’s University vice-chancellor and president Professor datuk Dr Hassan Said and Taylor’s University deputy vice-chancellor Pradeep Nair.