Training the Next Generation

Sometimes it seems chefs are as much food scientists or magicians as culinary professionals. That, along with society’s push for more nutritional foods, is what’s behind a unique collaboration between Le Cordon Bleu and the University of Ottawa. It’s a program that back-to-schoolers can apply for now to begin in the fall of 2020.

The bachelor of integrated food sciences is the first program of its kind in Canada. It’s a multidisciplinary three-year bachelor program in which students will develop critical thinking abilities about issues related to food and nutrition sciences, food safety, customer and client relationships, culinary management and food-business management.

The University of Ottawa’s School of Nutrition Sciences and Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa worked together to create the curriculum, which includes culinary arts courses to be taught by world-renowned chef lecturers. Culinary techniques, menu planning, food-service administration and gastronomy will be included in the science and management education that are also part of the degree program.

Susan Tosh, director of UOttawa's school of nutritional sciences, says she imagines graduates of the program, which runs year-round with a one-month summer break each year, will leave with a broad understanding of food-related practices and will be able to provide strategic leadership and operational guidance in many different business or commercial settings.

“[This came about when ] a former director of the Cordon Bleu approached a former faculty member here. Together, they saw that there was a need for this program, especially as people take more interest in healthy foods,” Tosh says. “But healthy foods don’t sell if they don’t taste good. We wanted to bring together the food science for the creation of foods, the nutrition science — what we need to have healthy foods — and the culinary techniques to make it all taste delicious.”

She admitted that the kinds of jobs these graduates will be doing are only now coming into existence, but that creates demand for the first cohort, who will graduate three years after beginning the program in the fall of 2020. Increasingly, she noted, it’s important to find people who can combine the knowledge and experience of chefs, nutritionists, restaurant managers and scientists. Tosh sees them finding jobs in commercial food services and manufacturing, as well as in institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes.

She said the integration of the program is key. Students will take courses in food science, more traditional sciences, nutrition and culinary techniques.

There’s a molecular component covered under “advanced gastronomy trends,” but there are also courses such as foundation of food biophysics, which is all about texture; food tasting, which offers sensory analysis and food science, which teaches structure and texture of food from a chemistry and physics standpoint.

There’s also some biology, when looking at enzymes and antioxidants to maintain colour and nutrients, for example.

Because it’s private and receives no funding from the province, the program comes with a hefty price tag. For nine consecutive semesters of study, students pay $40,000 per year. Students aren’t eligible for uOttawa scholarships and bursaries, nor for Canadian financial aid.

Stéphane Frelon, chef instructor and academic manager at Le Cordon Bleu, says the program will therefore be seeking very specific students — those who can afford the tuition and those who see the value of leaving school with a bachelor’s degree. Along with the traditional school-age population from Canada, he expects to see international students and mature students apply.

Tosh admits that small restaurants may not be the place this programs’ graduates end up, but rather, she sees them potentially working for larger chain restaurants.

“A company that wants to improve the healthy aspects of their foods [is where they’ll end up],” she says. “Maybe it’s a grocery store chain that wants to have nutrition as a hallmark or maybe healthy brands. The bachelor of integrated food sciences program is unique. There are no other programs in Canada offering a multidisciplinary degree in food, nutrition and culinary sciences.”

She noted that even some companies that make what’s seen as unhealthy food may hire such graduates to help them harness the health trends.

Frelon sees similar jobs for graduates.

“For sure it will give them a chance to work as a chef, but with this bachelor degree, they can work on recipe development, work with big companies to develop products, work on sustainability in agriculture, or work in preserves,” Frelon says. “There will be more work options than just the traditional program. They can use their combined knowledge of nutrition and sustainability.”

Frelon likes the idea of having a collaboration between his school and the neighbouring university. Students will take classes on both campuses, which are a few blocks apart.

“We are in the same part of the city and we can combine our knowledge from the university and then the technical knowledge from the chefs at the Cordon Bleu to make a good and amazing match,” Frelon says.

Although the program was originally set to launch in the autumn of 2019, it didn’t receive enough successful applicants to run this year. Now that they’ve had a year to promote it, both institutions agree it should attract enough students to make it a go. The schools have agreed to start the English stream of the program in the autumn 2020 term, and then offer the program in French two years later.

The program concludes with an internship in integrated food sciences in the final semester, which organizers hope will give students an opportunity to gain experience in a professional environment. Tosh figures many of the students will secure placements with former Cordon Bleu alumni now in the workforce.

Only 14 students will be accepted into the program each year and the application process starts in the fall of the year before the student intends to begin the program. As such, interested students should submit their application well in advance of the posted deadlines.

Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa
453 Laurier Ave E, Ottawa, Ont.
cordonbleu.edu/ottawa | 613.236.2433

School of Nutrition Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa
25 Université, Salle 118, Ottawa, Ont.
health.uottawa.ca/nutrition | 613.562.5800