Savannah Technical College welcomed honored guests today for its Baking and Pastry academic exchange/educational partnership with the Academy of Toulouse.
 
“We welcome our new students for the next four weeks, along with their pastry chef instructors and college leadership from the Academy of Toulouse to Savannah,” said STC President Dr. Kathy Love. “This partnership continues Savannah Technical College’s exceptional training for Baking and Pastry arts students. Chef Jean Vendeville, his staff and students have planned a unique immersion experience for our new students from France.”
 
STC’s Department Chair for Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts Chef Jean Vendeville described the partnership as a friendship and looks forward to working with the French students training at Savannah Technical College. “Our students had wonderful success when they studied in France last year,” said Vendeville. “We look forward to teaching these students and learning from them.”
 
This educational partnership began last fall when five Culinary Institute of Savannah students studied and worked at the Academy of Toulouse. Training for these students includes Baking & Pastry classes along with English as a Second Language classes at Savannah Technical College from March 6 – April 2.
 
“I am thrilled to learn of the natural synergy that has developed between the Savannah Technical College and Lycée des métiers Lautréamont, and I applaud the initiative of Chef Jean Vendeville and Proviseur Cyrille Courade,” said Consul-General of France in Atlanta Louis de Corail.  “I look forward to following the growth and development of this exchange program in the years to come, and I wish everyone involved the very best success.”
 
This visit is the fruit of a blossoming relationship that has transformed into a first-of-its-kind exchange program between a French and American technical school. In 2015, representatives from the Académie of Toulouse came to Georgia to explore an academic partnership with Atlanta Public Schools. Chef Vendeville, department head of the Culinary Institute at Savannah Technical College, attended some of the exchanges. After meeting the principal of Lycée des métiers Lautréamont, Cyrille Courade, the two realized the great potential of establishing a bilateral connection between their establishments that would benefit generations of chefs to come.
 
STC Baking & Pastry student Hailey Maurer was one of the five STC students that studied in France last fall. “While we were in France, we had the pleasure of meeting and working with both the amazing students and their passionate instructors,” said Maurer. “Together we forged not just a partnership between our two schools, but also a life-long friendship with their students. They made our experience unforgettable, and the best experience of my life; I can only hope to return the kindness, knowledge and passion they showed us.”
 
Academy of Toulouse student Charline Goutoule is excited to study in Savannah. “This is an enriching opportunity to learn another life style and customs, because Americans work differently compared to French,” Goutoule said. “Savannah Technical College’s faculty and students know things that we don't.” She compares the educational exchange to learning to dance. “There are steps Americans know that I can't learn in France, and I would like know how Americans work, if it's more traditional or commercial.”