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Our Culinary Circle

By Nicole J. Managbanag
December 1, 2010
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro

The first ever established Culinary Institute of Cagayan de Oro (CIC) of Northern Mindanao invited some guests last Friday for an open-house of cooking demos from their very own products of future chef.

During the event, the in-house chef guided the students in showcasing a four-course, mouth-watering meal, from the salad and main course to dessert.

Now on its fifth batch, CIC is committed to offer a comprehensive Culinary Arts program of International standards in Mindanao with Manila-based chefs to conduct special session, geared to provide education to those seeking advancement in their professional and personal lives.

Chef Malou Caudal, a registered nutritionist and dietician who is the program director of CIC, inspired the guests citing that in year 2016; around 1.6 million chefs will be needed to cater to the whole world.

In CIC, she said students will only invest P60,000 to be paid in installment to learn how to cook. The school is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities -- from modern kitchens, mini library, well-trained chef, NC II certified -- a small investment compared to other culinary schools. But students would be earning a bright future.

Caudal said the school offers a personalized training for commercial cooking in different foreign cuisines from renowned chefs in Manila and from their in-house chef.

She assures those who wish to be a part of their school that they would become a world-class chef.

"The students will be having a strenuous training within eight months to impart to them what it is to know in the world of culinary. Their skills in cooking will further be enhanced and we'll teach them the right attitude so by the time they will finish the course, they will be competent to other chefs who studied in much expensive culinary schools," Caudal said.

A close monitoring of students are applied with a very congruent instruction manual and well-programmed lectures from textbooks.

She also said students will be assessed intellectually through a diagnostic exam, written and practical every month.

Caudal emphasized that as enrollees grow each day, CIC plans to expand their program for next school year with additional topics on safety and sanitation and culinary team-building program for companies who wants to develop team building.

On top of these, Caudal said they had already tied up with Macro Asia Corporation, Negros Navigation, local hotels in the city and five-star hotels nationwide for their students' on-the-job training.

What so good about CIC, she says, is that after the duration of the course, students would be given a certificate from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and would be required to undergo an on-the-job training in any hotels all over Mindanao or at any hotel that are accredited with the Cagayan de Oro Hotel and Restaurant Association (Cohara) after which, a chef diploma will be given, eligible at any expensive hotels all over Philippines, and perhaps the world.

"There is no other school like us that incorporates teaching in culinary, Science and teaching strategies," Caudal said as she emphasized that CIC can produce world-class chefs and nutritionists.

She said students would learn how to calculate the amount of nutrition needed for a certain menu, which is not applicable to other schools.

Caudal says one need not be a degree holder to study at CIC as high school graduates are welcome as long as they are capable of following instructions and have not been diagnosed with Hepatitis and Tuberculosis.

CIC is now accepting enrollees for batch 6 for its Sunday classes. Those interested may visit CIC at the 3rd floor of Legacy Building, Antonio Luna St. (near Professional Regulations Commission), call (088) 309-19 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.