Alain Ducasse Buys ENSP Pastry School

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Alain Ducasse to the rescue. Last week he joined forces with pastry chef, chocolatier, and restaurateur Yves Thuries to help save the failing Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Patisserie (ENSP) AKA the French Pastry School which risked closing due to declining enrollment. Agence France Presse reported the two chefs were forming a company to run the school. Founded in 1984, ENSP is in Yssingeaux, in the South of France. It is the only pastry school in France that offers courses to trained chefs. Alain already has his own school, Alain Ducasse Formation, which also trains chefs and novices and runs a consulting business that developed, among other things, space meals for the European Space Agency (see "Alain Ducasse: Hyper Chef - Now Serving Mars"). Perhaps the two schools could share students, administration and publicity costs, and online presence? AFP reports that Alain hopes to create foreign programs and increase enrollment from 750 last year to 1,200 by 2010. He and Yves hope to turn the school into a "seedbed of creative pastry". Hey! -- Maybe astronauts will get even better desserts! Previous articles: Top 49 Men 2006: Chef Winners Alain Ducasse: Top Men of 2006 John Grisham: The Broker Emeril Leads Space Race? Sodexho Signs Suvir Saran Michelin Guide New York 2006 Jeffrey Chodorow: Talent Agent? Arrests for Attempted Bombings of Ducasse's Ostape Les Enfantes Terribles devient terriblement vieux Alain Ducasse: Hyper Chef -- Now Serving Mars [Chefs & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Alain Ducasse --> back to Super Chef Ducasse, who has Michelin three star restaurants in Monaco, Paris and New York, said he hopes to welcome international students to Yssingeaux and turn the school into a "seedbed of creative pastry". The school will also work with establishments abroad, exporting its programmes, said Thuries. The goal is to welcome 1,200 students per year by 2010, compared to 750 last year. There are also plans to allow amateur chefs to take weekend courses.