Currently, I organize and co-lead two Study Abroad programs for prominent American universities. As a former Study Abroad student myself, I truly understand the special needs of college-age students and have years of experience guiding and sharing my knowledge with this unique age group!
James Madison University’s
Food & Culture of France
In 2018, I was contacted by the History Department of James Madison University to create this one- of-a-kind program for 15-17 learners. Students spend three weeks in Paris and in Beaune, France, learning about food and culture of historical and modern-day France. Students visit the most important monuments of Paris, but we spend the majority of our time discussing, examining, and tasting the markets, restaurants, and food shops of Paris. We also visit other cities near Paris and Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy, to explore wine production sites.
This is a truly interdisciplinary program, highlighting aspects of food and culture, history, architecture, hospitality, foreign language and culture, and sociology. For this program, I am in charge of organizing all the logistics and activities for the students and professors while in France. My responsibilities include contacting and negotiating with various vendors for student accommodation, planning trips to Champagne, Provins, Chartres, and Beaune, and all monument visits, as well as organizing a cooking class and all dining experiences, including a Michelin-starred restaurant. I also co-lead the group and provide walking tours and lectures during the 3-week period, along with my colleague from JMU, a Professor in the History Department. To read an article about this program in Bonjour Paris, please click here
City College of Technology’s Thomas Ahrens International Work/Study Programs
Since 1998, City College of Technology’s Thomas Ahrens International Work/Study Programs have offered hospitality learners in Brooklyn, New York the opportunity to spend time in France’s hotel, restaurant, and tourism industry in one of two ways.
The Work program is a 3-month internship in a restaurant kitchen in one of three regions of France, and is open to only 3 or 4 students each year. The Study program is a 3-week intensive program in Paris, France, through which 20 students explore the different aspects of Parisian hospitality and tourism, hotel management, and food. Students discover French culture through the everyday experience of living in Paris. Hands-on cooking classes take place in two different culinary schools and is lived directly through day to day market shopping, tastings, and restaurant dining. A group project, a walking tour presenting a Parisian monument, rounds out this hospitality-focused program.
In 2016, I was brought on the team as an Adjunct Professor and am in charge of organizing all the logistics and activities on the French side of the program. My responsibilities include contacting and negotiating with various vendors for student accommodation, planning trips to Champagne, Rungis wholesale market, and all hotel and restaurant visits, as well as culinary courses. I also co-lead the group and provide walking tours and lectures during the 3-week period, along with my colleague from CityTech, an Associate Professor of Pastry and Baking Arts.
To find out more about how I can help your institution organize a Study Abroad program, or for more specific details on this program, please get in touch. I’d be happy to provide you with details and references.
To find out more about how I can help your institution organize a Study Abroad program, or for more specific details on this program, please get in touch.
I’d be happy to provide you with details and references.
If you’d like to read what my colleagues have to say about working with me on these Study Abroad programs, please click here.
