Learnings from Pastry Connection: Valrhona Formation School with Javier Guillén and Eugenio Moral

The current situation we are living in the world allows us to redirection our vision to new alternatives. These crisis incentive us to evolution and acquire new abilities in order to adapt ourselves. On this context, República del Cacao has achieved once more to guide us towards new initiatives, by developing Pastry Connection. A group effort with Valrhona and Sosa, brands that are well known on the same level, they present us different referent in the gastronomy world through various virtual conferences of a great informative, experiential and educative content. Moreover, they take us closer to the human side of these professionals, managing in making their audience more sensitive towards them, and making them aware of that personality that is hidden behind a mediatic image.

This is how from my workshop I have the pleasure to write this review about one of these conferences that has a place between my favorites. On this occasion, we have Javier Guillén on one side, who has worked in some of the best places like: El Bulli, Pierre Hermé, Oriol Balaguer, among others. And, on the other side we have Eugenio Moral, born in Madrid, with hotel and pastry experience, but if there is something they share beyond their passion for the sweet world, is that both emerged from the Valrhona formation school.

Tain-l’Hermitage, at the South of Lyon. This city is well known of its wine production, but since 1989, it has become more visible through the Valrhona chocolate factory and its first formation center, where innovation goes hand in hand with teaching of the highest level. “On Valrhona’s case, the good part is that you get a very complete formation, with a lot of recipes. Around 1700 students go through the school each week, 2 or 3 famous chefs visit the school each week, they can be big pastry global champions chefs, so you not only get a formation with engineers, partners and colleagues, but you also learn a lot by assisting these chefs.” – Javier Guillén

Nowadays Valrhona is a company that has presence in more than 54 countries around the world and its formation centers are located in various cities, like the one already mentioned, Tain-l’Hermitage (1989), Paris – Versailles (2009), Tokio (2007) and Brooklyn (2015).

Each one of these schools has its one identity and creations, which have made of them a utopic world, turning themselves into guides of the vanguard in the sweet world. It is undoubtedly a place where all of us lovers of pastry would want to be, so the question emerges, how can we go to these formation centers? “You can apply by sending your CV or through a contact, but if it’s not what they are really looking for, that is another completely different thing. The important thing is to get it, but the most important thing is to stay inside.” – Eugemio Moral. In the middle of all of this the conference protagonists highlight that the team work, professional support, notable human quality, from the school’s founder, Frédéric Bau, to the team that works with him, form a complete excellence education that is transmit through them.

This is how, the Valrhona formation school is without a doubt an institution that develops the best of all, and its students from all around the world remember it with nostalgia and happiness, thanks to the moments, memories and experiences they had in it.

And it was like this that among laughs and memories we got to know a little bit more about the best pastry and chocolate school in the world. And we got to learn more about two big exponents of the sweet world, that have formed part of the Valrhona history, and that currently continue surprising us with their creations and ideas, sharing all over the world their know-how, educating at the same time new gastronomes who reflect the excellence philosophy of the Valrhona formation school. I feel very motivated about what I listened and saw on this conference, personally I hope this time we are going through make us develop our potential in order to continue creating, innovating with sense, adapting ourselves, and sharing with the world what we are capable of doing. Inspiration it’s everywhere  and it emerges in spontaneous ways; I finish this article quoting the big Javier Guillén, “may inspiration find us working!”

   David Silva, Pastry and Chocolate Chef, Professor in Universidad de los Hemisferios