Campus Etoile Academy in Tuscania, Italy: Becoming a Healthy-Food Chef

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 3/03/2017

Campus Etoile Academy in Tuscania, Italy: Becoming a Healthy-Food Chef

Eating in restaurants is a luxury that we give ourselves once in a while because chefs can create magic in their kitchens which is much more than what we can do with ours. After all, with years of extreme experience in culinary studies, they are charged with the technical and artistic knowledge of creating dishes with the wow factor. Their concoctions are perfectly-styled with a mixture of aromas and flavors that play in our palates. At Campus Etoile Academy, they teach more to their already accomplished kitchen professionals because this year, this 30-year-old culinary school is introducing its new Professional Culinary Course Specializing in Nutrition. If you want to become a Healthy-Food Chef, then come on in and explore the school with me.

Campus Etoile Academy was founded in 1982 as a center of training and improvement for chefs. In 2005, it obtained the status of Institute of Superior Education and has recently moved to its captivating location, a former convent built in the 1300's in the ancient town of Tuscania, which is just about 100 kilometers away from Rome. In the property, there is a large green space where the school also maintains an amply-sized open vegetable garden with over 200 species of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs. A few classrooms overlook this part with large glass windows making it a conducive setting for gastronomic preparation. The modern laboratories are fully equipped with the latest technology and the best tools for cooking and pastry-making that can allow the students to reach their full potentiality in creativity while the teachers are top-level Professional Chefs.

After three decades of preparing professional chefs and pastry chefs, Rossano Boscolo, the school's founder and rector, has decided to launch a new branch of gastronomic education, the Professional Culinary Course Specializing in Nutrition, which will also be the first to be introduced in Italy. The course will begin on the 10th of April 2017 with a limited number of slots. It lasts for 8 months which is comprised of 960 hours of training, divided into 480 hours of practical and theoretical lessons at the campus and another 480 hours of stage or internship in other structures. Upon completion of the course and the final examination, the chef will be qualified and certified as a Health-Food Chef that is recognized under the Italian Law No. 845/78 which is also valid in the rest of Europe. (For classes in English, contact the school).

Nowadays, with the augmenting number of people with food intolerance, allergies and medical problems, the chefs cannot just improvise in the kitchen what they think their diners need. There is a significant essentiality in creating dishes that follow specifically what are required (and avoided) by the these people. This can only be attained by the chef if he has the correct nutritional knowledge through studying thoroughly before applying it in his kitchen.

In this particular course, the students will be guided by experts on wellness and specialized doctors who will be coordinated by Dr. Roberto Miccinilli, a specialist in the Science of Food and also a professor at the Univeristy of Tuscia. In addition to the course, Campus Etoile Academy holds a very important collection of books spanning the history of gastronomy from the Italian Rennaisance to the great French chefs from the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of Boscolo's collections of ancient books in gastronomy go back even to the 1500's. The library's contents are currently under digitalization for the students' perusal in studying.

Being a part of a group of food bloggers and journalists coming from Rome, giving us the structure of the school's new course was foremost in the tour. The luxury of living well nowadays is by eating well and it is a unanimous motivation that we all share. What better way is there to conclude the morning with a show cooking of the chefs. Our lunch, composed of four courses, were all prepared with carefully selected healthy ingredients. If you are someone who looks at healthy food as uninteresting and bland, well, you will be in for a great surprise because our lunch was one of the best I have ever had!

Crocchetta di miglio su vellutata di cannellini (millet croquette on veloutè sauce of cannellini beans)
Couscous di cavolfiore, sgombro marinato alle erbette, tofu e citronette alla barbabietola (cauliflower couscous, mackerel marinated in herbs, tofu and beetroot with citronette)
Ricciola pochè con molicata Mediterranea su crema di topinambur, perle di patate alla curcuma e spinacino (poached greater amberjack with Mediterranean crumbs on cream of Jerusalem artichokes, potato pearls with tumeric and baby spinach)
Profiteroles gluten free e sugar free (gluten-free and sugar-free profiteroles)

Mangiare sano non è una tendenza ma un’esigenza che va considerata con assoluta serietà e professionalità, penso agli intolleranti, ai diabetici ma anche ai vegetariani, ai vegani e ai celiaci. Lo chef non può improvvisare ma deve avere le giuste conoscenze e competenze.

- Rossano Boscolo, founder and rector

Eating healthy is not a trend but a necessity which must be considered with all seriousness and professionalism, I think of the ones with food intolerance, diabetics but also the vegetarians, vegans and celiacs. The chef can not improvise, but must have the correct knowledge and competence.

(translated to English)