The Food School, Bangkok

ALMA takes part in the ambitious international project of Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and real estate development companies, and opens its first foreign branch in Bangkok, within the exclusive The Food School. A unique joint venture offering experiential training in Italian, Japanese and Thai cuisine – as well as exclusive incubation services for startups in the restaurant industry – in a state-of-the-art facility and involving, together with ALMA, Dusit Thani College and Japan’s renowned Tsuji Culinary Institute.

ALMA thus takes its educational know-how across borders, pursuing the goal of enhancing and spreading the Italian food heritage around the world.

The Food School is designed to provide an innovative, progressive and experiential learning environment, and is aimed at young professionals, food lovers, career changers and entrepreneurs looking to get the best possible start for their F&B businesses. Central to The Food School’s offerings are long course modules in Thai cooking, Japanese cooking, and Italian cooking and baking, as well as short course modules that draw on the latest food trends and unique business incubation services with “Cloud Kitchen” facilities.

The Opening Ceremony

ALMA officially marked the opening of its first flagship school in Southeast Asia with a special inauguration ceremony at The Food School Bangkok, Thailand’s first multinational culinary school, where ALMA, alongside Tsuji Culinary Institute and Dusit Thani College, is based. Presided over by the then president and CEO of ALMA Mr Enzo Malanca, Gabriele Baistrocchi, CFO ALMA, His Excellency Mr Paolo Dionisi, Ambassador of Italy to Thailand, and ALMA’s Italian Chef Instructors,Mr Siradej Donavanik, Vice President – Development Global, Dusit International and Mr Laurent Casteret, School Director, The Food School Bangkok.

“Such a prestigious partnership with Dusit in The Food School project describes an important impetus for the School’s international mission. Taking part in the creation of an educational hub in one of the most important Asian capitals both economically and gastronomically, such as Bangkok, represents an ambitious project where the excellence of a group like Dusit and the recognized authoritativeness on the educational level of ALMA, constitute the common denominator among the partners involved.“

Enzo Malanca, President and CEO of ALMA from 2012 to 2023
Photo: The ribbon-cutting moment during the inauguration on January 18, 2023.

The Ceremonial Launching

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has presided over the Ceremonial Launching of ‘The Food School Bangkok’. Mr Arsa Sarasin, Chairman of Dusit Thani Public Company Limited, Mr Chanin Donavanik, Vice Chairman and Executive Committee Chairman of Dusit Thani Public Company Limited, together with Gabriele Baistrocchi, CFO ALMA and executives and staff member of The Food School Bangkok have offered an audience to Her Royal Highness.

Upon this auspicious occasion, Mrs Suphajee Suthumpun, Chief Executive Officer of Dusit Thani Public Company Limited, has received an honour to report the school overview.

Thereafter, Her Royal Highness has visited the progressive learning areas and atmospheres led by Chef Instructors from the three partner schools which include ALMA, TSUJI Culinary Institute and Dusit Thani College. Moreover, Her Royal Highness has visited the vertical farm where the school aims to empower the sustainable ingredient production and signed the commemorative parchment in honour of the school.

Equipped with the latest kitchen equipment, blended learning platforms, and audiovisual presentation technology, The Food School occupies 3,200 square meters of carefully designed space on three floors, one for each school, in the new Creative & Startup Village in the Sam Yan district of the Capital.
Equity partners in the more than 9 million development include Dusit International, Glowfish Co-Working Space (under the private real estate investment company, Heritage Estates Co., Ltd.), Allied Metals, one of Asia’s leading suppliers of professional kitchens and kitchen infrastructure, and finally ALMA.

The Food School offers short course modules in culinary science and nutrition, artisanal culinary arts, industrial retraining and upgrading; as well as special courses on plant-based food production, sustainable and locally grown products, and international master classes, among others.

Students during their journey will also have access to The Food School’s unique entrepreneurial incubation platform, The Test Kitchen, which will offer the aforementioned Cloud Kitchen support and facilities for product testing and experimentation; business planning services; professional coaching and mentorship; as well as exclusive opportunities to obtain financial support from investors during specially organized pitching sessions.

CUISINE | Basic

CUISINE | Intermediate

CUISINE | Advanced

PASTRY & BAKERY | Basic

PASTRY & BAKERY | Advanced

SHORT COURSES

CUISINE | Basic Level

To provide students with skills useful for embarking on a career path, such as basic theoretical and technical skills on raw materials and Italian cuisine, guidelines on kitchen organization, and knowledge on appropriate behavior and dress, in compliance with health and safety measures.

CUISINE | Intermediate Level

A course that aims to expand skills and knowledge related to traditional approaches and products, which are essential for understanding the culture of Italian cuisine, with a focus on amuse bouche, appetizers, main courses, intermediate dishes, main courses, menu construction, traditional preparation and buffets.

CUISINE | Advanced Level

This level complements training with skills and knowledge related to traditional pairing approaches and products, as well as modern cooking techniques focusing on alternative and integrative approaches, with attention to menu writing and composition, pairings, and molecular cooking fundamentals.

PASTRY & BAKERY | Basic Level

The course aims to provide basic theoretical and technical skills on Italian pastry, its raw materials, equipment and tools through recipes for classic Italian desserts, with the purpose of making filled and stuffed cakes, ice cream-based desserts, shortcrust pastries, meringues, whipped masses, brioches and leavened pastries.

PASTRY & BAKERY | Advanced Level

The advanced level completes the course to consolidate notions related to techniques and processing of raw materials (chocolate, sugar…) and stimulate recipe customization, up to experimentation with the latest trends in Italian pastry.

Masterclasses of Cuisine, Pastry & Bakery

The masterclasses are aimed at amateurs and food lovers and focus on the most iconic traditional Italian dishes, both cooking and baking: fresh pasta, dry pasta, risotto, traditional recipes, savory and sweet fried foods, biscuits, panna cotta, tiramisu, and baba.

NATIVI | Pastry

RUFFINI | Cuisine

BELLUZZI | Pastry

Chef Enrico Nativi

To school books he prefers the rolling pin and the sheet of pasta to make tortellini. Just enough time to pass through Serra Mazzoni’s Alberghiero, then the scent of eggs and sugar begin to enthrall him, to the point of convincing him to attend ALMA’s Advanced Pastry Course. After an experience in Alba, at Enrico Crippa’s Piazza Duomo restaurant, in 2015 he returned within the walls of the Reggia di Colorno, this time as a teacher first of the Pastry Techniques Course and now of the Advanced Pastry Course.

Chef Bruno Ruffini

After the hotel school in Salsomaggiore Terme, he moved to Verona for his first summer season followed by experiences in South Tyrol, Switzerland at the Grand Hotel Park and finally at Harry’s Bar in London.

After a few internships in starred Italian and European restaurants Ruffini decided to return to the fold, to his native Emilia, where, after opening his own restaurant, he joined ALMA as a lecturer on the Advanced Course in Italian Cuisine.

Chef Angelo Belluzzi

After an initiatory trip to America when he was just 19 years old, at 23 he matured conviction to become a pastry chef. He started working in a pastry shop in Mantua and attended a basic training course before entering ALMA’s Advanced Pastry Course. After leaving there, he left for Laurin in Bolzano, then Sant Hubertus in San Cassiano at Norbert Niederkofler’s; then he left for Spain, where he worked for the best resort in Spain until arriving in Jose’ Manuel Samper’s brigade, alongside Antonio Bachour as assistant. Then back to America, to New York where he worked in a resort. After a year in Tenerife with Martin Berasategui, he was called as head pastry chef in one of the best hotels in the world, the Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany. And it was at that very moment that the call came from ALMA as pastry chef lecturer.