HRC & École Ducasse International Bachelor Track

Next start date

March 2024

Duration

3.5 years

Location

Sofia, Bulgaria + Paris, France

Internships

3 paid international work placements

Accredited by:

ACF, WACS, NAVET

HRC & École Ducasse International Bachelor Track
Why choose HRC & École Ducasse International Bachelor Track?

Learn with two world class institutions

This unique Bachelor Track brings together the culinary expertise of HRC Culinary Academy and École Ducasse, two of the most admired names in gastronomic education. You’ll spend your first two years with HRC before switching to École Ducasse Paris Campus to complete your Bachelor’s degree.

Open up a world of career choices

Your curriculum combines intensive, hands-on culinary training with rigorous academic studies of business and management topics. This delivers an exceptionally well-rounded skill set that will open up endless career opportunities as well as providing a perfect foundation for your entrepreneurial endeavors.

Experience three professional working environments

Throughout this program you will undertake three paid work placements in three different countries, broadening your cultural horizons while delivering a wealth of real-world industry experience that will set you apart from other culinary arts graduates.

HRC Culinary Academy

HRC Culinary Academy is the premier educational institution of its kind in Eastern Europe. Established in 2008, HRC Academy has trained hundreds of aspiring chefs, from over 40 countries. We are the first school in the European Union accredited by the American Culinary Federation.

Our teaching is entirely in English, with a focus on practical skills, and applied by world-renowned chefs. We are proud to offer paid internships at some of the finest hotels and restaurants in Europe and the USA, where our students have the chance to obtain knowledge and skills.

École Ducasse

École Ducasse’s mission is to transmit French gastronomic excellence to students at all levels of experience and know-how. In its teaching, it endeavors to convey the culinary savoir-faire and expertise of its founder and guiding light, Alain Ducasse – a pioneer in recognizing the value of living and eating well.

The three schools in France – Paris Studio, Paris Campus, and École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie – are joined by international schools in the Philippines, India, and Thailand; all of them committed to sharing their passion for gastronomy.

Details about the International Bachelor Track

HRC Culinary Academy and École Ducasse offer an integrated 3.5 year Bachelor’s degree in a modular design, which delivers enhanced practical skills and business/entrepreneurial expertise. Teaching across all semesters is 100% in English.

Practical sessions are taught in specialized kitchen labs at HRC’s campus in Sofia and École Ducasse’s campus in Paris, both of which offer state-of-the-art chef training facilities.

Through hands-on classes under expert supervision, you will develop a comprehensive knowledge of both classic and modern cooking techniques while also learning to adapt to the unique demands of the professional kitchen environment.

What you learn on campus is supplemented by two professional internships and one work placement. After your first semester you will have the opportunity to complete a 6-month internship at a high-end culinary establishment in Europe. After your second semester in Sofia you’ll undertake a one-year paid internship at a 5* luxury hotel or high-end restaurant in the USA. Your final work placement sits between semesters 5 and 6 and provides a practical immersion in a partner establishment of École Ducasse.

Throughout the program, and especially in your fifth and sixth semesters with École Ducasse, your practical training is accompanied by academic classes that will teach you about the business beyond the kitchen, focusing on key topics such as talent management, marketing, financial performance management, sustainability, and much more.

Upon successful completion of the program you will be awarded a Bachelor’s degree from École Ducasse, joining a combined alumni community that now numbers over 10,600 individuals.

HRC Culinary Academy and École Ducasse offer an integrated 3.5 year Bachelor’s degree in a modular design, which delivers enhanced practical skills and business/entrepreneurial expertise. Teaching across all semesters is 100% in English.

Practical sessions are taught in specialized kitchen labs at HRC’s campus in Sofia and École Ducasse’s campus in Paris, both of which offer state-of-the-art chef training facilities.

Through hands-on classes under expert supervision, you will develop a comprehensive knowledge of both classic and modern cooking techniques while also learning to adapt to the unique demands of the professional kitchen environment.

What you learn on campus is supplemented by two professional internships and one work placement. After your first semester you will have the opportunity to complete a 6-month internship at a high-end culinary establishment in Europe. After your second semester in Sofia you’ll undertake a one-year paid internship at a 5* luxury hotel or high-end restaurant in the USA. Your final work placement sits between semesters 5 and 6 and provides a practical immersion in a partner establishment of École Ducasse.

Throughout the program, and especially in your fifth and sixth semesters with École Ducasse, your practical training is accompanied by academic classes that will teach you about the business beyond the kitchen, focusing on key topics such as talent management, marketing, financial performance management, sustainability, and much more.

Upon successful completion of the program you will be awarded a Bachelor’s degree from École Ducasse, joining a combined alumni community that now numbers over 10,600 individuals.

HRC and Ecole Ducasse teachers

Your Chef-instructors

Viktor Svetoslavov

Viktor Svetoslavov

Chef Viktor started his studies at the HRC Academy after years of professional experience, turning his passion for culinary arts into his career path. He trained at the Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin, a luxury hotel with Michelin restaurant in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Afterwards he spent a year at the Sea Island Resort Golf and Spa in Georgia, USA. His culinary experience also includes positions in Bulgaria and in the Kempinski group in Germany. Chef Viktor is a well-rounded professional with an additional degree in Marketing and Management and has a proven track record in human resources management, and business operation management. Chef’s favorites are Artisan bread making.

Viktorija Baltutyte

Viktorija Baltutyte

Having graduated our culinary academy (HRC Culinary Academy) she has a vast international experience in the hospitality industry since 2013! Victorija has worked in numerous highly regarded kitchens across the globe! So far her journey has brought her back to Sofia where she develops her professional and personal skills at Nikolas0/360, where she is the sous-chef! Together with her team they hold prizes such as "Best Restaurant" in Bulgaria 2017, Best Signature Cuisine 2017, 2018 and multiple other awards. In 2015 she aces the 1st place for the best Pastry chef in a culinary competition organised by the American Culinary Federation! Victorija is passionate about bold flavors and experimenting in the kitchen! One of her main strives is to promote women being chefs as she believes that in a male-dominated field, female chefs find the best way to get ahead is to support one another!

Lyuben Koychev

Lyuben Koychev

Chef Lyuben Koychev started his culinary journey at the young age of 14 in his hometown – Gabrovo. After graduating from high school, he joined HRC Culinary Academy and head-started his international culinary career in restaurants around the Netherlands, Belgium, and Croatia. For the past 6 years he was managing the culinary team of MasterChef Bulgaria for 3 years and another 3 years, as Chef Viktor Angelov`s right hand and culinary coordinator of Hell`s Kitchen Bulgaria. He was also a Head Chef of the restaurants Andre by Andre Tokev and Chef`s by Viktor Angelov. He has a passion for exotic spices, flavors, and unique ingredients. Chef Koychev is now an Executive Chef of Talents Restaurant, sharing his knowledge and passion for food with the 3rd semester students of HRC Culinary Academy.

Alain Ducasse

Alain Ducasse

Inspired by a genius. Born in 1956 on a farm in the Landes region, Alain Ducasse discovered the tastes of produce at an early age. At 16, the young cook entered a restaurant in France's southwest, then left to train with chefs such as Michel Guérard, Gaston Lenôtre, Alain Chapel and Roger Vergé, with whom he discovered provincial cuisine. In 2005, Alain Ducasse became the first chef to have 3 restaurants awarded with 3 Michelin stars at the same time. He is now at the head of more than thirty singular establishments. For Alain Ducasse, the cuisine brings together and expresses strong values: generosity, sharing, tolerance, open-mindedness. This commitment is expressed via numerous social initiatives, as well as in the heart of his schools which transmit his passion for eating well and his humanist vision of cuisine.

Luc Debove

Luc Debove

After earning a Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnel (CAP) in pastry, completing an apprenticeship in pastry, confectionery and chocolate-making, and obtaining his Master Pastry Chef diploma in 1996, Luc Debove has built an exceptional career over the past 30 years. He joined Michelin-starred establishments and renowned learning institutions, such as the Meridien Beach Plaza, the Royal Riviera and the Grand Hôtel du Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera, as well as École Bellouet Conseil in Paris. Apart from these professional experiences, Luc has taken part in numerous competitions throughout his career. In 2010, he was crowned World Ice Cream Champion in Rimini, and named “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” in Ice Cream-Making in 2011. He was awarded the prestigious National Order of Agricultural Merit in 2015. This broad range of experience enabled him to acquire valuable qualities and to be equally at ease in making pastry, ice cream, bakery products, confectionary and chocolate, as well as in teaching and passing on the know-how he has acquired. This he has now decided to place at the service of École Ducasse – École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie as Executive Pastry Chef.

William Groult

William Groult

Chef Instructor at Ecole Ducasse After completing a Master’s degree in psychoanalysis, William Groult decided to reorient his career towards culinary arts and joined École Ducasse in 2008 as commis chef. He learned everything from the Chef Instructors, enriched his experience and became Junior Chef Instructor at Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse. He then worked in several establishments of Ducasse Paris, notably as Chef de Partie at Rech restaurant, for a four-year spell during which he worked with Chef Adrien Trouilloud. Having at heart a desire to train and pass on his knowledge, he came back to École Ducasse in May 2014 to become Chef Instructor.

Course Disciplines

  • Nutrition
  • Kitchen Hygiene & Safety
  • Kitchen Theory
  • Kitchen Laboratory Class
  • Teamwork & Communication Skills – The Power of Teamwork in the Kitchen: Nurturing Collaboration and Cooperation
  • Nutrition
  • Kitchen Hygiene & Safety
  • Kitchen Theory
  • Kitchen Laboratory Class
  • Teamwork & Communication Skills – The Power of Teamwork in the Kitchen: Nurturing Collaboration and Cooperation

Video

Ecole Ducasse - Paris Campus

Why I chose HRC Culinary academy

Ready for an incredible culinary career?