Schools offering Culinary Courses abound these days like mushrooms sprouting here and there but there is one among the few prestigious ones that stands out: Enderun.

For hobbyists and those who want to further hone their culinary expertise, Enderun is offering the following for you:

• Alain Ducasse Foundation ADF + Enderun 15 month program at the Enderun Culinary Center
• Three-month Pastry Arts Certificate

In 2007, ADF+Enderun is an academic partnership between Enderun Colleges in the Philippines and Alain Ducasse Foundation. Alain Ducasse is a modern French chef who had a hand in running three-srat rating restaurants in three cities: Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee in Paris and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester in London. Alain Ducasse Foundation was established to combine culinary methods, training and consultancy services.

ADF+Enderun has a philosophy that consists of theory demonstration and practice. The school has international standards in terms of having culinary teaching facilities: hot kitchen laboratories, pastry kitchen laboratory, preparation kitchen and a culinary amphitheater.

Enderun culinary amphitheater where some classes are held. There are two monitors with different videos featuring the cooking done in front.

Chef Marc Chalopin who demonstrated two yummy dishes. Recipes and photos will be posted here.

Workstations-to-students have two students work in a workstation with eight workstation per class.

This is the Restaurant 101 where the students “work” in a real-setting without having to go elsewhere.

Students have internships in various Alain Ducasse restaurants and at the Alain Ducasse Formation training centers in France.

Applications are open for November 2011 intake.

3-Month Pastry Arts Certificate continue reading this entry »

This email landed in my inbox and I have decided to copy-paste its entirety lest I misunderstand some of the important details.

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Japanese university offers scholarships for Filipino students

A renowned international university in Japan is aggressively recruiting Filipino students and beefing up its international student profile. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) will provide qualifying Filipino students scholarships to pursue international degrees on its campus in Beppu, Oita Japan. APU belongs to the esteemed school system of the Ritsumeikan Academy, of which Ritsumeikan University and other primary, junior and senior high schools are integral institutions.

“Among the over 90 nationalities currently enrolled in APU, many Filipinos have successfully and consistently received 100% tuition reduction scholarships,” says David Evans, APU Admissions Counselor.

Representatives from APU will conduct an information session on October 1 at Dusit Thani Hotel between 10 am and 12 pm to meet Filipino students who wish to earn international degrees, and to explain to participants about the school and its programs, admissions policies and procedures, as well as scholarship opportunities. APU alumni and current students will also be there share their University experiences. Registration is free.

APU offers degree programs in International Business and a range of Social Sciences at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Degree programs in the undergraduate are taught using a bilingual system. International students typically enter on an English basis (although students can also enter on a Japanese basis) and for the first year of undergraduate study, they will learn the Japanese language. In short, there is no need to know Japanese to enter APU, students study for their degree in English, but will also learn Japanese once they are there. Proficiency in both languages prepares students to take their courses in either English or Japanese when they reach third and fourth year of studying. Meanwhile, degree programs at the graduate level are taught exclusively in English.

Minimum requirement for qualification to APU undergraduate programs is completion of K-12 education or an International Baccalaureate, or completion of at least second year college courses. For the graduate programs, completion of at least 16 years of education is required.

Currently, there are 25 Filipino students on campus, and 21 have since finished their courses. The enrolment ratio of local to foreign students is 53% Japanese is to 47% international students making the university one of the most international and multicultural campuses in the world.

Information about APU may be accessed through its website at www.apu.ac.jp. For registration inquiries, contact 782-5599 or email sidnro09@apu.ac.jp.

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Please help spread this information so that it reaches deserving students. Thank you!

Someone once asked me why I am not posting new blog posts about special ed. I’ve temporarily lost my writing muse. Even with the online publication I currently send articles too, I’ve been missing deadlines.

I’ve so many plans but I don’t know where to start. I’m afraid these plans would “rust” if I don’t do something. I’ll not be surprised if the best metal detectors will go ga-ga when these are used to scan me, haha.

I know I’ll get back “to the groove” in time.

I just need to curtail a bad habit that I have developed these past few weeks.

I’m slowly getting things in their proper perspective and I hope this will stay as such until I got enough self-control to do the things I need to do first before doing the less important things.

Procrastination is not something I am proud of. ‘Nuff said.

More challenges ahead. For me.

I feel that I have somehow lost sight of what I do best but I will just keep silent about what this is. I am focused on other things, mundane things that somehow make me feel “shallow” and at the same time happy. Accomplished? A bit but not really.

Earlier this year, I started picking up my needles, colorful threads and a white  linen fabric. After few Xs, I stopped. I told myself earlier on that I will finish this piece before the year ends. Well, we are into the end of the third quarter but I still have not picked up where I left off. This was a plan to take me away from being online

I started to write a plan for something I want to do in the near future but I lost inspiration. The plan is still “mentally embedded” in me (and hopefully will not be muddled, even if I have a mud mask on my fez, toinks) if there is such a thing.

I know if I don’t put these plans in writing, I will definitely forget. I usually sometimes forget what I’m supposed to remember because I have a lot of things going on that need my attention.

Last Saturday I got a call that somehow gave me a mental boost of energy and inspiration. Even if this proposal will not push through, I gained confidence that I need to start thinking about the mentally embedded plans.

Organized thoughts + well-thought of plans = success.

So, where is that notebook where I can write down my plans/notes and have these checked as they happen? 

In retrospect, I am thankful for…

1. Today, September 1,  I am thankful for… the keen observation of that little girl Caitlin who saw me waving my arms at the school bus so I can get my two little children home earlier than usual (hah! long story but that was an epic moment for me).
2. September 2: Today I’m thankful for being able to spend time with my mommy blogger friends as we learned new ways to prepare healthy food for the children, all courtesy of Active Fun. The kids got to play for free too!
3. September 3: Today I am thankful to a student, G, for the life lessons he learns from which I learn big time too. Taking a “sneak peek” into what he thinks makes me more conscious about how I am as a teacher and as a mom.
4. September 4: I am thankful for the time I get to spend with the family, yes, crunch time for review or not.
5. September 5: I am thankful for the “gift” of technology as I am able to do pages upon pages of reviewers without having to write these on papers.
6. September 6: Today I am thankful for my friend Ronald and his wife Gennell for dropping by our (chaotic home) and giving me a brand new pink and silver Hoopnotica hula hoop. Yes, I’m super happy! Wheee!
7. September 7: I am thankful for the chance to get to know my children through their notes, even if I have to stay till the wee hours of the morning to finish their reviewers. They appreciated the efforts and I hope they will do well in the tests.

I was inspired by my friend Ria‘s daily gratitude journal on Facebook and I decided to do this too.Since today is the first day of September, I figured why not start now?

I plan to write the little things I am thankful for each day and collate these as a weekly entry.

if I can’t go online, of course there are days I can’t go online, I’ll use that little notepad in my bag to write my “I’m thankful for…” thoughts. If not, my good old mobile phone can be my wee digital notepad.

Have you counted your blessings lately? Is your cup half-empty or half-full?

I know I will not just keep tabs what the people, happenings and things I am thankful for, but I will be able to learn to appreciate the “details of the fabric” woven as a canvass called “My Life”.