Tears of joy were seen on stage, smiles all around, and with great enthusiasm, we are proud to say congratulations to our new CIL Alumni! With inspirational speeches given by our own students and after months of hard work, it was finally time to say farewell to our 109th graduating class. It is our honor to welcome our students on this new journey as a Chef and to remind them our doors are always open for you. Visit us, let us know how things are going and if you need work, remember, we offer lifetime job placement assistance!
Whether you’re graduating with a degree in Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry or Hospitality & Restaurant Management Degree or Diploma, we are very proud of having all you as an Alumni!
Congratulations everyone and thank you for making this day special!
Find all of the graduation in our Dropbox:
109th Graduation Pictures
Kevin Avery Graduation Speech:
Good morning, Graduates, CIL staff, and family members. It is a great honor to stand before everyone today delivering this farewell. My name is Kevin Avery and I am here to receive my degree in baking and pastry arts. I would like to begin by saying congratulations to the 42 students graduating with me today because we all know, “The struggle was real”. I think I speak for the entire class when I also say “Thank you” to anybody that supported the graduates sitting before me today, whether it was a family member giving moral or even financial support, or a chef that pushed somebody to the extreme because they saw potential. I know I wouldn’t be standing before you today if it weren’t for you.
I have learned a lot in my time here at the CULINARY INSTITUTE LENOTRE®, but there is one thing that stuck more than the rest. It was a recipe, a recipe that many of you are familiar with because it is used quite common amongst all of our chefs whether cuisine or pastry. I like to call this recipe humble pie, and today I’m going to share that recipe with everyone:
*First you are going to pre-bake your dreams and set them to the side for later use.*
Then, you are going to take 1 cup of your Imagination, and 1 cup of your inspiration and sift it directly into 2 cups of your pride. Then, you are going to add a sprinkle of your confidence and stir as you gradually pour in all of your heart.
Next, you are going to take this hard work, and feed it directly into your chef, slowly, allowing enough time to fully process. (Warning: operating a chef requires special training, and can be hazardous if not handled with care!) Your chef will completely shred your hard work while mixing it with an equal amount of critique and spit it back out to you all at once. This step is highly important and must be followed precisely or you will not get the desired results.
Finally, pour your feedback into your pre-baked dreams, top it off with 8 ounces of red wine and sit for a while in a quiet place until everything has settled inside. Chill and enjoy.
Today we graduate, but we do not stop learning. Our diplomas and degrees do not exempt us from advances in our industry, they don’t shield us from society’s opinions and outlooks. They do not relieve us of the need for credibility, and they do not automatically place us at the top of our leagues. If this school has taught me anything, it is that you earn your right to wear the title “chef” and you do that through time, dedication, perseverance, and a little slice of humble pie from time to time.
I don’t know about the rest of the graduates, but for myself, today is such a bittersweet day. I finally get relief from a headache I have had the past two years, and I’m almost certain that Jocelyn and Robert feel the same way because God knows I’m not easy to please. But, at the same time, I am leaving a place that has created so many wonderful memories, and brought so many unexpected wonderful people into my life. Today we close one chapter in our story and we begin another. Today is about you and your success, so as you grasp this moment in time, cherish it, share it with those that mean the most because moments like this are typically only once in a lifetime. As you walk across this stage, stand tall, and shine bright like the stars you all are and most of all celebrate your success, cause let’s be real… tomorrow, we go back to reality where it’s not all smiles and graduations. Congratulations Graduating class of 2018, and best of luck to everyone in your future endeavors…..