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Chef Laurent Chauvet Hosts Family and Consumer Science Students for Culinary Art Session

ChocolateAlliance Française de Gaborone and Chef Laurent Chauvet last week hosted University of Botswana Family and Consumer Science Students to a Chocolate Mousse class treat.

The event was part of the Francophone culture celebration. Alliance Française de Gaborone invited Chef Chauvet to showcase French cuisine.

The event was hosted at Alliance Française de Gaborone as part of the University of Botswana Industry Mentorship initiative and students had the opportunity to gain practical skills on how to prepare French onion soup and Chocolate Mousse dessert.

Chef Laurent demonstrated how to prepare the internationally acclaimed Chocolate Mousse using a simple recipe of chocolate bars, eggs and butter. The students and lecturers who attended the session had the opportunity to taste the dessert and give feedback. 

 

Welcoming guests, Dr Segametsi Maruapula, Head of Department Family and Consumer Science, said the initiative was to promote, cultivate and nurture an Entrepreneurial culture among students. Dr Maruapula stated that there was boom of vendors in the culinary sector but most of them were less qualified and were only pushed by passion. She observed that with the right expertise, the students stood a better chance in the market.

Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, spoke about one of the goals of the University of Botswana strategy which he said was to develop skilled and passionate students who can penetrate the international market with ease.

Consequently, he urged the students to think globally and become internationally renowned chefs. Professor Norris also encouraged the students to introduce Tswana cuisine to the industry. He also expressed His appreciation for the culinary arts and told the students to follow their passion with vigour.

Chef1Chef Laurent said it was high time they demystified culinary arts as male dominated hence more women should be actively involved and included in the industry as well.

Based in South Africa’s Hogsback in the Eastern Cape, Chef Laurent revealed that all his knowledge was gained through interactions with people of different nationalities globally through his travels. He encouraged the students to be passionate about their culinary work and to pour out their love into the art. He advised the students to make it habit to create recipes from scratch and be more organic to bring more flavor to the dish.

Dean of Faculty of Education, Professor Lily Mafela, urged the students to take heed of Chef Laurent’s advice. Professor Mafela observed that a chain of success could only be achieved if they too developed their own recipes. That would also help develop the local market.

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