A look back at the annual meeting of former students: an unbreakable link with the School of Pastry and Agroecology

A look back at the annual meeting of former students: an unbreakable link with the School of Pastry and Agroecology

by | 24 Aug 2023 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school

At the beginning of July, a milestone event brought together former students, a vibrant symbol of the vitality and sustainability of our School of Pastry and Agroecology.

The annual meeting of alumni brought together an impressive participation of more than a hundred graduates from the eight previous promotions. For many of them, this gathering involved a trip from Phnom Penh, testifying to the continued commitment and the unbreakable bond that our alumni have with our institution.

The days of the meeting were punctuated by a variety of stimulating activities, from team-building sessions to convivial games, through the sharing of moving testimonies and moments of conviviality.

This event offered a privileged opportunity for our former students to dialogue with the current promotion, to reconnect with their teachers and to rediscover the warm atmosphere of the school which trained them.

annual meeting bayon school
team building bayon school
alumnis annual meeting bayon school

As part of this exceptional meeting, we conducted interviews with 102 graduates of the École de Pâtisserie, covering the period from 2014 to the present day. The results of these interviews are instructive. Indeed, 62% of graduates continue to work in their initial field of training, and a comfortable majority of 86% receive a sufficient salary to cover their daily needs.

These figures underline the effectiveness of our educational program and the relevance of the training provided. Moreover, the positive feeling of former students is reflected in the statistics, with 79% of them expressing their satisfaction with their training. Even more remarkable, 62% have moved into professional positions that truly fulfill them personally and professionally.

This annual meeting demonstrated that our school continues to inspire, guide and contribute significantly to the professional growth of our graduates. We are proud of our alumni community and look forward to continuing to share their exemplary journey with future generations.

Art worshops in Bayon schools!

Art worshops in Bayon schools!

by | 19 Apr 2023 | Bakery and pastry school, General education, Primary school

We had the great pleasure to welcome Gilles in March, along with his friend Nathalie, for art and creation workshops in our primary school and pastry and bakery school.

Gilles, a young retiree, is passionate about art, especially wood and metal sculpture. As he says so well, “I hurt the metal so that it lives”. Gilles and Nathalie have worked with our students on several art projects.

First of all, at the primary school, the wall of Elodie’s canteen was decorated with fruits and vegetables as well as numbers in Khmer and English. This project was discussed with Vantha, the school director, who wanted to enrich the wall with educational and pedagogical elements. The students can now practice both languages. This project was carried out with students from Grade 1 to 6.

A mural with a natural decor was also created with the help of the school’s pedagogical team who were inspired by the nature present in Cambodia and around the school such as geckos, a beehive, birds, flowers…

The playground of our students was also redesigned, two new structures were created from rubber tires. The students dug the ground to be able to attach the tires in order to create a course as well as 2 racing cars. They then painted these new cars in the colors of Cambodia!

In addition, in the pastry and bakery school art projects took place around the use of wood. The students worked on what pastry and bakery represented for them. Then, they drew their representations on wooden logs and made engravings using a pyrography machine. Afterwards, these creations were assembled to create a composition in the garden of our Coffee Shop.

The students let their creativity run wild and painted our pond with a “nature” theme. They had fun painting water lilies, flowers, fish and turtles.

In a perspective of renovation and improvement of our visibility, the wall that borders the street leading to our Coffee Shop needed a good refreshment. To do so, the students and the pedagogical team of the pastry and bakery school cleaned the wall and then repainted it in the school’s colors! We decided to add a little fantasy by illustrating some of the pastries and drinks offered on the menu of our Coffee Shop.

Art workshop pastry students

For Gilles, sharing with students is always an unforgettable moment. As Charlie Chaplin said, “Children have talent, it’s just a matter of showing it”. These workshops have allowed our students to express their creativity and talents. They are now proud to see their creations displayed in their respective schools. Bayon School aspires to further develop these extra-curricular activities with the aim of stimulating curiosity and developing their ability to imagine and interact.

Once again, we would like to thank Gilles and Nathalie for their time, support and investment at our side. We look forward to seeing you next year for new projects!

A Meilleur Ouvrier de France at the Bayon pastry school

A Meilleur Ouvrier de France at the Bayon pastry school

by | 5 Jan 2023 | Bakery and pastry school, Coffee Shop, Vocational training

During the month of December, we were once again lucky enough to welcome Fabrice Prochasson, Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 1996, for a week at our pastry school.

Prochasson et équipe Bayon

In 1982, encouraged by his mother, Fabrice Prochasson discovered the world of gastronomy, which he never left. He first worked at Lenôtre as head of Research and Development from 1999 to 2002. He realized several prestigious events such as the inauguration the tunnel under the Manche in 1992, the 1998 and 2006 soccer world cups and the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.    

In 1996, he became Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the cooking category and was the official coach of the French winner of the Bocuse d’Or in 2013, Thibaut Ruggeri.

In 2016, he joined the Aryzta Group as creative and innovation manager for the group’s brands including Coup de pates®. For more than 50 years, Coup de pates® has been serving the entire catering industry with finished and semi-finished frozen products, combining innovation and tradition. Coup de pates and Chef Fabrice Prochasson have supported the Bayon Pastry School since 2018.

Last December, the chef came to visit us for a week to cook with our students. This is not Mr. Prochasson’s first time to help the Bayon. Indeed, he already came once to Siem Reap in March 2019 to delight us during the Charity Gala.

Throughout the week, our students had the chance to cook with him to prepare the event “The Bayon Gathering Night”. The goal of this evening was to bring together again friends of the Bayon in Cambodia. For this occasion, we prepared a buffet worthy of the name. Foccacia, shrimp skewers, tempura, leek quiche, coffee marinated salmon, macarons, millefeuilles… our guests enjoyed the food, and our students had a great time cooking with the chef.

Invités et buffet - Bayon Gathering Night
Etudiante en préparation - Bayon Gathering Night
Buffet - Bayon Gathering Night

We are especially proud to have been able to bring all these beautiful people together in this lovely place called Endora. And we are proud of our students and colleagues for the delicious food. We thank them for their commitment and motivation throughout the week. To congratulate them, we also organized a graduation ceremony in the presence of the chef so that the students will keep a very good memory of this week.

We also thank Chef Fabrice Prochasson for his kindness, his sharing of knowledge and his benevolence with our students.

Our projects do not stop there, we have great prospects for the year 2023 with Coup de pates and the Chef Fabrice Prochasson whom we thank greatly for their support.

Culinary immersion in France: between discovery and training

Culinary immersion in France: between discovery and training

by | 5 Jan 2023 | Bakery and pastry school, Vocational training

From November 6 to 16, Sokly, pastry teacher, and Chomrong, English teacher at the Bayon pastry school, had the opportunity to spend a few days in Paris.

This trip organized by Apprentis d’Auteuil and bringing together the different members of the ASSET – H&C program allowed them to follow a training course on pedagogy.

After a long flight, Sokly and Chomrong finally landed in Paris and took the train to Château des Vaux, in Eure-et-Loir, where a week of classes and workshops of all kinds awaited them.

During these few days of training, our teachers were able to attend different classes with the students trained at Apprentis d’Auteuil. In particular, they were able to participate in different cooking classes focused on the themes of “catering”, “pastry” and “bakery” where they learned to cook a blanquette de veau, a Parisian flan, baguettes and many others. These cooking classes also allowed our pastry teacher, Sokly, to discover many new equipment and ingredients. These discoveries can be a source of renewal in our kitchen in Cambodia.

After these few days of training, our teachers returned to Paris for the end of their stay. They enjoyed a boat ride on the Seine, a visit to the Eiffel Tower and a delicious French meal with the members of the Bayon Association present in France.

Atelier avec Chomrong
Sokly, Chomrong, Dubrule team à la Tour Eiffel
Sokly en cuisine

What did you learn during this week of training?

We learned and discovered many new things such as teaching styles and patterns, new recipes, new equipment and ingredients, how to work and communicate with your team in the kitchen.

What we learned most from this pedagogical training was the importance of soft skills. We teach young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is therefore essential for us to teach them adaptability, communication and teamwork within the professional sphere so that their integration into their future teams goes well. Apprentis d’Auteuil was able to give us the keys to approach these different subjects with the students.

What surprised you the most?

First of all, we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. The Château des Vaux is a wonderful place, full of history. We were also impressed by the know-how of the chefs, their professionalism and their warm and friendly welcome in their kitchens. Moreover, the modernity of the kitchens and the equipment gave us a lot of ideas to rethink the layout of our kitchen in Cambodia.

In general, we were also surprised by the road traffic in France and its organization. We will remember that in France, we walk much more than in Cambodia!

What is different about our school?

At Apprentis d’Auteuil, students follow a minimum 2-year training program, whereas at Bayon, the training lasts only 1 year. There are many more students and teachers and the facilities are also more modern and diverse than at our school. Finally, students who wish to follow a training program at Apprentis d’Auteuil have to pay tuition fees that vary according to their family’s standard of living.

After these few days of training, what changes would you like to make to your program?

After attending these different courses and visiting such beautiful kitchens, we would like to add lessons on the different tools and technologies used in the kitchen so that our students have a broader knowledge of the different appliances used. As a pastry teacher, I would also like to expand the learning of French recipes so that the students have a greater knowledge of French cuisine and also expand the Coffee Shop menu with more varied dishes.

It would also be interesting to have exchanges between students and teachers of the two training courses to better understand the culture of the other country, the history of pastry, the know-how and the way of teaching.

What would you like to say to Apprentis D’Auteuil?

We would like to thank Apprentis d’Auteuil for organizing this exchange program with ASSET H&C members. This trip gave us the opportunity to gain a lot of knowledge in the field of pedagogy and we are determined to apply it to our students in the future. We would also like to thank Pauline, Jeanne, Nicolas and all the teachers and staff of the school for their warm welcome in their training center.

The association les Enfants d’Angkor Wat: What is its mission ?

The association les Enfants d’Angkor Wat: What is its mission ?

by | 21 Mar 2022 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, General education, Primary school, Secondary school support, Social and families support, Vocational training

Created in 2012 by Dominique Roussel, the association Les Enfants d’Angkor Wat supports Bayon Education & Development in Cambodia, allowing our organization and our local teams to develop several projects, mainly related to the issue of general education. Dominique explains to us what his mission is and the reasons for his commitment.

What is “Les Enfants d’Angkor Wat” ?

“Les Enfants d’Angkor Wat” is is a non-profit association (Law 1901), whose purpose is, thanks to its donors, to help the education, in the broadest sense of the term, of the poorest Cambodian children.

We are involved in the fields of education, health and professional training.

Our goal is to help these children, in often difficult family contexts, to gain permanent access to school, to build their future and to acquire the values that will be the foundation of their lives.

What are the guidelines of your comitment ?

Our actions are guided by 3 principles:

– School is a place of development …

Beyond the classical intellectual and cultural learning, we want school to be a place where the child discovers what he/she has the “possibility to be” … and not the “obligation to be” that the family misery can impose on him/her. They discover their rights and duties but also explore their own potential in order to make informed choices for their future.

– Health remains a major concern

Even if things are improving with time, health is an area where there is still work to be done. Nutrition remains precarious for many children and when it is chronically insufficient or unbalanced, it generates various pathologies affecting the child’s growth. In addition, diseases not detected at birth are sometimes identified later. We facilitate access to health care and provide financial support because health is still a luxury for the poorest.

– The future employability of children is a priority investment

Building the future of these children is our purpose.

In our projects we invest in key fields that are and will be discriminating in their future employment searches. Thus, computer science, English and ecology are major issues in the education of children, as they are omnipresent in daily life and are used as selection criteria in recruitments. So many training courses to which poverty would not give them access.

What need have you identified in Cambodia ?

We must not forget, in Asia, the power that parents have over their children throughout their lives. I think we need to communicate with them more and more, to explain what we do, the values that drive us and that we talk about to the students…

Otherwise, there is a great risk that two universes will operate in parallel, the family and the school, and that one will not be the relay for the other…

Thus, we have to be very inclusive with the parents: share the pedagogical project and involve them in the follow-up as much as they can, so that the school is not only a place where they don’t have to feed the children or look after them while they work. Cambodian social workers and volunteers are doing an extraordinary job in this sense. It is necessary to continue and to amplify this work in order to avoid further school dropouts because the child remains too often an adjustment variable of the family economy.

What projects are you investing in ?

Each age has its own specific needs, so we have decided to create and implement projects for each age group, from early childhood to professional training.

With Bayon Education & Development, a Cambodian NGO, with whom we have signed a partnership and who follows these projects locally, we run a kindergarten class for underprivileged children in the Angkor temple region, we invest in computer and English classes as well as dental care for primary school students. We have also created a hostel for young girls in middle and high school in the north of the country to prevent them from dropping out of school and we support various vocational training programs in the hotel industry, agro-ecology and pastry-making.

A look back at Diane’s journey: Cycling for equality

A look back at Diane’s journey: Cycling for equality

by | 21 Mar 2022 | Bakery and pastry school

July 2021. The beginning of a beautiful thought

Sitting in the family car, I watch the landscapes of France go by at full speed. While observing these colorful distortions, I wonder how to better know these landscapes and the inhabitants who populate them.

That day, I decided to learn to take time to discover countries close to home and about which I almost know nothing. To learn to immerse myself in the beauty of a landscape that I would discover at my own pace, to let myself be surprised by honest, rich, and surprising encounters.

I see in the discovery and encounter of the unknown a breeding ground for listening, tolerance and peace. I believe that discovering other realities makes us aware of the needs of others. This awakens in me the desire to get involved in social initiatives and to support issues related to gender inequality. For this reason, I decided to leave for 3 months, alone, to pedal through Europe, carrying along this travel a solidarity project.

Sensitive to women’s condition around the world, I wanted this project to be an opportunity not only to discuss, but also to support women’s education through an organization that I care about: the Bayon School. This Cambodian NGO, whose mission is to provide quality education to children from disadvantaged areas in the north of the country, has always inspired me. In 2014, it opened a pastry school dedicated to young girls. This program gives them the opportunity to emancipate themselves through a job, and the keys needed to build their future. Education being for me the first step towards a fairer world, I decided to pedal for them, and to raise enough funds to finance a year of study at the pastry and bakery school, which is 2500 €.

September 10th 2021. The departure sounded.

5 a.m. Alone on the train platform. The adventure begins, with my bike and my four bags. That day, I repeat to myself the proverb “let those who think it is impossible do it, let those who want to try.” With this first pedal stroke, I am already getting closer to the “impossible” that I am looking for: freedom, human contact, exchange and simplicity.

This trip has shaken me up, upset me, and transformed me, for several reasons:

 1. Traveling alone

Freedom is often something we take, rather than something we are given. Being free to choose what is good for us is also learning to listen to ourselves. Traveling alone was also for me synonymous with being surrounded, everywhere I went. Each day took on the color of the many encounters I had along the way. I learned a lot from this diversity of personalities: artists, athletes, students, or travelers. Each of these encounters enriched me and expanded my universe a little more.

2.Traveling by bike

Not knowing anything about what is called “cyclotourism” or even the basic functioning of a bicycle (I learned how to close my bags correctly after a month and a half), I learned everything “in the field,” gathering information along my adventures. But most of all, I learned that for every problem there is a solution, and if I can’t find it by myself, I will always find a kind help on my way. Traveling by bike is also rediscovering distances by counting the kilometers, keeping patience during an endless climb and savoring every little victory or reward.

 3. Being a woman while traveling

During the trip, I often felt that I had to fight twice as hard because of my gender: against prejudices, against additional vulnerability, against my own fears and worries.

On the other hand, being a woman made it easier to make contacts and to be trusted.

I was thus confronted in all its power with the condition of being a woman, in Europe, while supporting the independence of a Cambodian woman thousands of kilometers away from me.

Throughout this trip I asked around me what everyone thought was most essential to improving gender equality. The biggest majority answered education, thus echoing the mission of the Bayon School, the reason for my trip and my commitment. I had the feeling that I was supporting a constructive debate and that a consensus was emerging: that education is the key to social progress, but also that it is important to realize that this key is not yet universal. That it is important to carry these projects to give them a voice.

December 20th 2021. The end of a beautiful trip

In front of me, the acropolis of Athens. Behind me, the 5000 km that I have just covered. Besides the satisfaction of having succeeded in crossing six countries with diverse cultures, the surprise of having reached 200% of our objective, and thus 5000€, filled me with joy. Being able to finance the entirety of the studies of 2 young girls proved to me that by daring the impossible, we can contribute to making the dreams of equality closer to reality.

Today, if this cycling adventure ends, it will have opened a field of opportunities that I am eager to seize. It will have given me the essential resources to continue to explore this personal journey and to pursue my commitment to human rights, especially women’s rights.