Alain Ducasse Education Partners with George Brown

On Wednesday and Thursday, world-renowned chef Alain Ducasse spent his evenings at George Brown. Interviewed by Chef Chuck Hughes on Wednesday, many hoped the answer to his question of whether he will open a restaurant in Toronto would be, but of course! But it was sadly an admanant, Non! There is too much competition, he said.

But good news has arrived.

George Brown College’s esteeemed Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (CHCA) announced on Thursday a partnership agreement with Alain Ducasse Education (ADE) that will "provide students the opportunity to live, learn and gain hands-on experience in France."

Ducasse, Founder of Alain Ducasse Education, said, “In George Brown’s Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, we have found an educational partner that shares our vision of top-quality learning and output, and international training. I have high expectations for this partnership and look forward to collaborating with George Brown on other education-related initiatives in the months and years to come.”

The partnership will expand CHCA’s academic offerings with a new three-semester Advanced French Patisserie postgraduate program, set to begin in the spring of 2015. Offered jointly with ADE’s celebrated pastry and bakery school, École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (ENSP), the program will cover areas such as chocolate confection, savoury baking, regional cheeses and artisan breads.

After a partnership of this magnitude, perhaps a Ducasse restaurant in Toronto isn’t such an impossibility after all.