2024 French+Gastronomy Scholarship - Scholarship Recipients share their experiences
Newly launched in 2024, the French+Gastronomy Programme Scholarship aims at enabling students from Hong Kong and Macau to discover all aspects of French gastronomy in Rouen, a city in Normandy that is rich in history, culture and culinary excellence. Campus France has teamed up with the FAUCHON School and the French language institute French in Normandy, offering an extensive 3-week programme combining French lessons, cultural discoveries and exciting workshops in the hotel and restaurant industry.
Check out the testimony offered by this year's awardees - Jacob Wong, from the Macao University of Tourism (UTM) as well as Carol from the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong.
Jacob Wong - Macau University of Tourism
As a first-year student from the Macau University of Tourism, Jacob spent an intensive three-week exchange programme in the French city of Rouen, Normandy, thanks to our French+Gastronomy Programme. All expenses - two-way airplane tickets, accomodation and tuition fees - were fully covered during his three-week stay there. A daily living allowance was also provided.
Jacob described the experience as rewarding:
The French+Gastronomy Scholarship allowed me to discover the techniques of great chefs, meet producers and culinary professionals, while learning the French language at the French in Normandy language centre. During my stay in France, I attended French-language classes every morning during the weekdays. In the afternoons, I attended cooking classes at the FAUCHON School, learning new ways to handle ingredients.
Jacob attended French language classes every morning at the French in Normandy language centre. Although the syllabus was quite challenging in the beginning, he was able to keep up as time went by. The rest of each weekday was dedicated to cooking classes at Fauchon School under the supervision of top chefs, pastries chefs and chocolatiers etc, with an action-oriented pedagogy. With the culinary school, Jacob was able to master his culinary techniques in making cocktails, pasttry, and tasting wine. Moreover, he was even able to interact with a range of hotels in Rouen, discussing with their respective managers and directors. "Thanks to the French+Gastronomy Scholarship, we paid a visit to the local "Marché d'Intérêt National", where we saw how different products are products were sourced,'' says Jacob.
The city of Rouen adds an exceptional touch to the French+Gastronomy Scholarship Programme, as the city and its Normandy Region offer a wide range of cultural and artistic activities. As the birthplace of Impressionism, Rouen is one of the French cities with the most historic monuments per square meter, offering students an authentic destination rich in discoveries. "Together with friends, I visited a number of tourist attractions in Normandy to experience the region's history and culture, such as the Etretat cliffs Falaises d'Étretat, as well as the Honfleur Harbour," Jacob adds.
Our awardee Jacob said he was able to get to know people from different countries, and getting along with them was the most unforgettable experience from the programme. He had always dreamed of such opportunities to discover foreign culture before, and he realised such dream in the first year of his higher education pursuit.
Carol Lee - THEi
Pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts and Management, Carol also went to Normandy to take part in the three-week gastronomic adventure. As this new year's Hong Kong recipient of our French+Gastronomy Scholarship, she expressed her appreciation towards the newly-introduced French+Gastronomy Scholarship and provided us some good feeback:
Those three weeks were interesting and novel. I studied a lot of the French language and learned new culinary techniques in Normandy. In addition, I made many new friends there, sharing our country's specialties in the communal kitchen of our accommodations, and head out to explore and shop together. During those three weeks, we were good companions.
Taking French classes in the mornings and cooking sessions in the afternoons made every workday enjoyable, and the Saturday excursion was also fascinating. We could visit notable local attractions in Normandy, such as Monet's Garden, which I had seen on television and wanted to go to.
Furthermore, the teachers at the school are amusing, fun and engaging. Overall, it was an amazing experience - I now have a deeper understanding of the French gastronomic culture and local life, and, definitely, I'll visit Rouen again in the future!
