IT was a great relief for the advanced diploma students at Taylor’s Culinary Institute (TCI) when they finally boarded their flights for a three-month long internship in France and Singapore.

In fact, they were not sure whether they would still get to train in the Michelin-starred restaurants overseas when they enrolled in the course last August as borders had yet to fully open.

Now that Malaysia is transitioning to endemicity and travel to many countries is allowed, these 26 Patisserie and Gastronomic Cuisine Advanced Diploma students are set to gain the culinary experience of a lifetime from their internships at 12 top restaurants in France and Singapore.

Jack Yap Zhen Jie, 21, said he is feeling grateful as he was not sure whether the foreign internship would materialise when he signed on for the programme.

“I’m going to make the most of my time there,” said Jack who will be interning at Maison BRAS, France, under the tutelage of Chef Sébastian Bras, son of Michelin-starred chef Michel Bras.

Earning a placement in such an esteemed restaurant has him “thrilled and enthusiastic, but nervous at the same time”.

“I hope to implement everything I have learnt there, and help raise the standards in the kitchens here,” he added.

Woo Kaiwen, 19, sees the chance to intern at the En Pleine Nature restaurant and Fred L’artisan, a renowned bakery, in France, as a “great training ground” to hone her pastry-making skills and prepare for the WorldSkills Competition 2022, to be held in Shanghai this October.

Asked if she was apprehensive about travelling abroad for her internship in light of Covid-19, Kaiwen, who will be participating in the competition with her coursemate Leong Yuk Shang, 21, said: “There’s really nothing much we can do about the situation. It is what it is and we just have to live with it.”

TCI director Frederic Raymond Paul Cerchi said the restaurants where the students would be interning were chosen based on their attitude and personality.

“In France, they are going to learn a lot not only in the kitchen, but also from the culture and the way of life,” he said, adding that the students flew off on May 22.

As part of the send-off for the institute’s August 2021 cohort that will be doing their internships overseas and the institute’s initiative to give back to the community, 11 children from the Pusat Jagaan Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Pendidikan Raudhatul Nurr Jannah, Batu Caves, were feted to a Hari Raya Aidilfitri dinner on May 12.

The event, held at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus Truffles Restaurant, saw the orphans aged between 12 and 17, being served a four-course meal inspired by French and Italian cuisines.

Besides enjoying the dinner prepared by experienced TCI chefs and the advanced diploma students, the orphans took part in various activities such as a motivational talk on the culinary and hospitality industry by lecturers Abd Halim Tumin and Reuben Arthur, and a dining etiquette and beverage demonstration where they observed the process of preparing a “Raya Nojito” mocktail featuring local ingredients like calamansi, asam boi, longan and lemongrass.

TCI Advanced Diploma in Patisserie and Gastronomic Cuisine and Diploma in Culinary Arts programme director Aaron Tang said they hope the event served to inspire the children towards pursuing a career in the culinary and hospitality industry.