Chef Meir Danon's School Teaches Professional Skills, But Many Learn for Hobby
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Chef Meir Danon's culinary school in Tel Aviv, founded 11 years ago, offers professional training with a focus on fundamental skills. While the program aims to prepare students for restaurant careers, a significant shift has occurred, with 60% now enrolling for hobbyist reasons rather than professional aspirations. The school, which trains about 1,000 students annually, is expanding and features notable instructors and guest chefs. Danon himself has extensive international experience, having trained and worked as a chef in Paris.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Meir Danon's culinary school trains 1,000 students annually, with 60% now enrolling for hobbies, not professional careers.
- Chef Meir Danon, with extensive experience in Paris, founded his Tel Aviv school 11 years ago.
- The school's curriculum focuses on professional restaurant standards, teaching fundamental cooking skills.
- Student motivation has shifted from professional aspirations to personal enrichment and home cooking.
- The school features notable instructors like Erez Komarovsky and guest lecturers such as Haim Cohen.
- Danon is currently expanding the school, adding two new classrooms to increase capacity.
Chef Meir Danon's culinary school in Tel Aviv, established 11 years ago, maintains a high standard of professionalism, evident in its pristine facilities, excellent student-run restaurant, and popular Friday cafe. Danon, who trained at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked for a decade as a chef in France, including at the three-Michelin-starred La Grande Cascade, returned to Israel in 2007. Finding the local restaurant scene unwelcoming, he transitioned to teaching, eventually opening his own school in 2015 after a successful tenure at another institution.
Danon's school offers an intensive year-long program comparable in cost to Le Cordon Bleu, though significantly less expensive when factoring in all expenses. He acknowledges the industry-wide shortage of restaurant staff but notes that his school trains around 1,000 students annually in cooking and pastry. Danon emphasizes that while the profession is enjoyable and creative, many people today are reluctant to pursue demanding physical labor, especially when compared to higher-paying fields like high-tech.
Interestingly, Danon observes a shift in student motivation: while previously 70% of students aimed for professional careers, now 60% enroll for personal enrichment and hobbies, with no intention of becoming chefs. This trend, he believes, is partly fueled by a post-COVID desire to cook well at home and a willingness to explore non-traditional career paths, including becoming "Instagram chefs." Despite this, Danon's curriculum focuses on training students to a professional restaurant standard, teaching them the fundamentals of cooking, akin to learning to "read and write."
The school boasts a strong faculty, including regular instructors like Erez Komarovsky and Sabina Waldman, and an impressive roster of guest lecturers such as Haim Cohen, Eyal Shani, and Yonatan Roshfeld. Danon is currently expanding the school, adding two new classrooms to increase capacity. The article highlights successful alumni pursuing diverse paths, including public relations executive Irina Shelmor, television director Ofer Kramer, and veteran correspondent Haim Rivlin, underscoring the school's broad appeal and impact.