Thiago Quir

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 
Area of Study: Cuisine

FUN FACT ABOUT YOURSELF

FAVORITE PART OF BEING A LENOTRE STUDENT

“The hands-on classes, you have no reason to not learn a new thing every single class.”

FAVORITE CLASS

“It is hard to pick one because I enjoy most of them but I love making fresh pasta.”

FUTURE CAREER PLANS

“I have so many!! But definitely to open my own restaurant so I can express who I am as a Chef and to introduce Brazilian Cuisine to this beautiful City of Houston.”

We love to showcase the achievements and successes of our alumni. Take a minute to check out this story.

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Alumni: Matthew Shaw
Hometown: Beeville, Texas
Year of Graduation: 2001 & 2011

What inspired you to become a chef?

For most of my adult life I have had a passion for food prep, presentation and for the pleasure of using food as a medium to bring together family, friends and colleagues. It began in my mother’s humble country kitchen and has blossomed into a profession I am proud to have membership within.

How would you describe the impact of your courses at CIL on your daily life?

Now that I am in charge of my own galley (kitchen), I have the opportunity to teach those just starting in the culinary field within the Coast Guard what I learned at CIL. From “mise en place” to knife skills, to classical and contemporary culinary techniques. Everyday I refer back to my training that I obtained withCIL over 15 years ago!

Any memorable moments as a student?

Returning to CIL in 2011 for an Associates degree, delivering the commencement speech as the Gold Magna Cum Laude graduate for my class, and then being given a scholarship to stage in Paris by Alain and Marie LeNotre. 

Any words of wisdom for students?

A culinarian’s learning process never stops. There will always be a challenge to overcome and a skill set to refine.

To be featured in our next Alumni Spotlight follow the link and complete our form! https://forms.gle/xEZAFEKcmPtusbjY7

Every term we gather in our amphitheater for food, music, games and to celebrate our students achievements. In this moment of celebration, we recognize a Student of the Term from Cuisine, Pastry and Hospitality & Restaurant Management. Our Level 4 Pastry students also showcase themed cakes for all students and staff to vote for their favorite. It’s fun all around!

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Theme & Cake Winners: This term’s theme was, of course, Mardi Gras! The student services department went all out with the decorations and the cakes were decorated in true carnival fashion.

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This year the Gaston Lenotre Scholarship Foundation hosted its 19^th Annual Champagne & Chocolate Gala.  The gala, which took place on Valentine’s Day in the illustrious River Oaks Country Club, is the only fundraising event of the year for the nonprofit.All of Houston’s most esteemed Francophiles came out in their black tie attire. The night began with a stunning performance from traditional French Cancan dancers leading into the meal prepared by Head Chef Charles Carroll. 

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    Dessert was provided completely by the CIL pastry department with the most spectacular buffet of macarons, bon bons and petit fours.  The evening consisted of both silent and live auctions, providing ample time for the generous guests to be even more generous! Included in the auction were a sunset cruise for 15 on Bill King’s yacht, and a 1 week stay at the Lenotre beach villa in Pietrosella, Corsica.  Two CIL Alumni auctioned off their catering services for a private party of 8 as well.  Students and chefs worked together for weeks preparing spectacular chocolate sculptures that also went up for auction during the gala. The gala was a complete success raising over $150,000 for the Gaston LeNotre Scholarship fund.

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Every term we gather in our amphitheater for food, music, games and to celebrate our students achievements. In this moment of celebration, we recognize a Student of the Term from Cuisine, Pastry and Hospitality & Restaurant Management. Our Level 4 Pastry students also showcase themed cakes for all students and staff to vote for their favorite. It’s fun all around!

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This month’s theme was, of course, HALLOWEEN. The student services department went all out with the decorations and the showcased cakes brought out the competitors spoooooooky sides.

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Congratulations to our winners! 1st place: Larriesha Hicks, 2nd place: Isabel Andrade and 3rd place: Denise Guevara.

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Houston’s food scene is a booming business, and a career in culinary arts has delicious possibilities.

One of the schools offering instruction in that career path is the Culinary Institute Lenotre, which has the education potential chefs need to get the skills, training and certifications needed to begin a culinary career.

Melinda Marie Franco, senior admissions representative, Culinary Institute Lenotre, said they are one of the only French-owned culinary schools in the United States.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported chefs and head cook job opportunities are projected to grow 10 percent from 2016 to 2026.

Getting started is easy to do, as classes begin every 10 weeks.

“Cuisine covers all fundamentals and techniques such as meat and fish fabrication, knife skills, mother sauces, Masterchef classes in the art of plating, to international cuisine covering 10 different regions of the world. Baking and pastry covers breads, French baguettes, croissants, macarons, candy making, ice cream making, dessert plating, to wedding cakes, occasion cakes, high-end sugar and chocolate showpiece work,” said Franco.

Franco said hospitality and restaurant management is an extensive study taught by professionals in the field. They also offer Sommelier classes for a deep, extensive study of wine.

When classes start, students are expected to be timely and in uniform, showing enthusiasm and passion for the industry.

“You must see food as an intimate thing. Discipline, detail, and respect are incredibly important in the kitchen,” Franco said.

Lenotre offers 14 program combinations focusing on culinary, baking, hospitality and wine. There are different electives to choose from to customize your experience.

“We have everything from 10-week sabbatical classes, one-year diplomas, and two-year degrees. We also have career placement services upon graduation,” said Franco.

Chefs can find work throughout industries such as fine dining, country clubs, hotels, cruise ships, and catering services. Some open their own restaurants, food trucks, and private chef businesses.

Culinary arts fast facts

•         2018 median pay: $48,460 per year, at $23.30 per hour

•         Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent

•         Work experience in a related occupation: 5 years or more

•         Number of jobs in 2016: 146,500

•         Job outlook, 2016-26: 10% (faster than average)

-Bureau of Labor Statistics

Read the article from CHRON here!

Alain Lenotre Teaches The French Culinary Tradition For More Than 20 Years in the United States

Son of the famous pastry chef Gaston LeNotre, Alain LeNotre also inherited the talent of his grandmother Eleonore, one of the first French women Chefs. For over 20 years Alain, with his wife Marie, has shared his knowledge and skills at the CULINARY INSTITUTE LENOTRE (CIL) in Houston Texas. By training students and polishing chefs from all over the world to the excellence of the French cuisine and pastry, CIL ensures the LeNotre legacy lives on.

Your Institute celebrated its 20th anniversary and received a great award last year …

We were indeed delighted to receive a very nice gift from the company Niche.com – ranked #1 American Culinary College! On this occasion, we also discovered that we had already been named by the company CollegeChoice.net for Best Associate Degree in Culinary Arts in the United States.

Up to date we have around 300 students with 15 full-time chefs, 13 of which are French. Our chefs have an average of 20 years experience in the restaurant industry. CIL offers four Elite Diploma Programs and three Associate Degree programs. All employees, from pensioners to the director, are shareholders and currently own 22.7% of the capital.

What does the French know-how mean today in United States?

We teach our students that the origins of Western Fine Cuisine are from France. The vocabulary and techniques are French. France represents a civilization of well being – thanks to our land, the knowledge of our artisans and our vineyards. We are very proud of this. We also teach the French tradition of restaurant and hotel management. 15% of our students are from countries other than the United States.

What program do you offer to students?

The hands-on Cuisine program is over 40 weeks and includes 75% fundamentals of the French fine cuisine techniques as well as recipes of great chefs, plus 25% dedicated to international cuisine.

For the pastry, bakery, ice cream, chocolate and decors, from 40 to 50 weeks, the program, is 90% French. We also have a restaurant, Le Bistro, inside the Institute with a Quebec chef who welcomes the students who wish to extend their apprenticeship with an internship.

This restaurant, dedicated to the students that are going into practicum, allows us to introduce ourselves to the public and to offer a real life experience to the students. Our Institute, the only French Culinary Institute in the United States, is approved by the American Department of Education, ACCSC and TWC, which allows us to offer to our foreign students seeking a 2 years Associate Degree an F1 visa. It is interesting for our students to learn French culinary art in the English language with a lower cost than the private culinary schools in France offer.

Speaker

Alain Lenotre

Is a graduate of an Executive MBA from CPA * Paris in 1981. He worked for twenty years in the family business created in Paris in 1957 by his parents;Gaston and Colette. Pastry , cuisine, catering director, founder of LeNotre School, then deputy general manager of LeNotre Paris, particularly in charge of the development of LeNotre franchises in the world. In charge of LeNotre subsidiary in Dallas and Houston, he left the family business, sold to Accor in 1984, to found with his wife Marie in Houston a French chain of pastry-cafe-caterers, then in 1998 has diversified it by creating Culinary Institute Lenotre Ranked # 1 in USA.

Early on the morning of August 2nd, Chef Jimmy Bedard and Cuisine student (and Army Veteran) Armando Llanes showed up to the Fox 26 Newsroom for an interview about their inventive and delicious menu for Houston Restaurant Weeks 2019. Chef Bedard was contacted Thursday night for the segment and jumped on it, knowing what an amazing opportunity being LIVE on Houston local news talking about Le Bistro and Culinary Institute LENOTRE would be!

Chef and Sous Chef started prepping for the segment the night before and brought all ingredients to the station that morning for the final plating: three appetizers, three entrees and three desserts. During the live interview, Chef Bedard talked about the menus being served during Houston Restaurant Weeks 2019 and how a percentage of the proceeds from those meals will be donated to the Houston Food Bank.

Bedard discussed the Culinary Institute and introduced his Sous Chef for the day Armando Llanes – a current student in the Cuisine department and Army Veteran who works in Le Bistro.

It was my wife who told me about CIL and encouraged me to attend after my tours with the Army. It was hard to assimilate back to civilian life but the school has given me a feeling of purpose again. I love the team environment, the rush of working on the line, and making people feel good about what they’re eating.

Armando Llanes

These words from Llanes hit an emotional chord with the staff at Fox 26 and with Chef Bedard – it is this “feeling of purpose” that CIL sees in all of its students. The #LenotreLegacy of tradition, quality and respect encourages a lifetime of leaning into your purpose. For the team in Le Bistro, this means teaching future chefs how to nurture their creativity and put their best selves forward on the plate.

What is so special about Le Bistro (at Culinary School LENOTRE) is that the students are in the kitchen and they are proud of what they are doing and learning.

Chef Jimmy Bedard

For more information about Le Bistro and to see the Houston Restaurant Weeks 2019 menu – visit the webpage here or the Facebook event here.