Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) Founder Partners with Paris 2024 Olympics
Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) was launched by Marx in 2012 to expand professional culinary training to those from disadvantaged backgrounds, who may otherwise have trouble accessing the inside of fine restaurant kitchens—those lacking educational qualifications, refugees, the unemployed, and formerly-incarcerated individuals—all free of charge. During a rigorous training program in culinary and baking arts, these students are not just learning the skills, they are producing gastronomic creations at La Salamandre, the restaurant run by the non-profit in Paris.
This commitment to innovation and social responsibility extends beyond training future chefs. Ensuring that the Olympic Games are sustainable and environmentally conscious has long been a concern regarding infrastructure and tourism management. But perhaps seldom has the question been applied to the restaurant world during the Olympic whirlwind. In Paris 2024, the subject was broached last year with the creation of the Ecological Transformation Committee, on which Marx was named Sustainable Catering Expert.
“The Games are enabling us to bring together the entire food ecosystem around a vision for catering that is sustainable from an environmental and social point of view. It is a unique opportunity to support the food transition in a positive way by proving that what is good for our health and the planet is also good to eat,” said Marx in a statement to the International Olympic Committee last year.
Sustainability will indeed be a major key at the Olympics, where 13 million meals will be served in four weeks at over 40 sites. Marx’s team at Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) implements sustainable measures by eliminating food waste with lots of “R”s: re-purposing scraps, re-imagining cooking methods, and even re-using cooking water. As Sustainable Catering Expert, he lends his expertise to all restaurateurs providing meals for the Olympics this summer. But Marx’s vision of environmentally-friendly catering is just one pillar of a responsible kitchen. The other is inclusion.
Supporting Ukraine
With 9 schools across France, Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) is now embodying inclusion in a new way: forging international solidarity with a newly established project in Ukraine, “La Cantine de Mariupol”. France has been a leader in Ukrainian aid in Europe, and has partnered with local actors in Ukraine to remodel 15,000 square meters of former student dorms to house 380 displaced families from Mariupol, a city particularly devastated by the war with Russia.
Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) has joined the project by launching a culinary and baking training initiative to staff the community restaurant for the new housing project. Collaborating with the Ukrainian Embassy and the nonprofit association Stand with Ukraine, the training center seeks to train 12 professionals, inviting them to the Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) school of Toulouse in September and October of this year, taking its inclusive approach international.
The two-month-long program will offer a full-spectrum, accompanied course in all culinary and fine dining subjects, including training in sustainability and anti-food waste measures. The trainees will apply their training during the program by cooking with the team at the restaurant Court Circuit, which guests can experience on Tuesdays and Fridays by reservation. The course will culminate in a full-service lunch attended by Thierry Marx and the project team, designed and executed by the students, fully celebrating their newly acquired gastronomic mastery.
Much like Olympic athletes push the limits of what the human body is capable of, Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) continually raises the bar for what fine dining can achieve, cultivating not only the highest standard of culinary craftsmanship, but also creating community. Through its training initiatives, the innovative non-profit organization contributes to creating solutions to serious societal challenges.
Seeking to ensure full funding for all its students, Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) relies on the generous support of donors. Friends of Fondation de France is proud to support the fundraising efforts of Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) in the United States. US-based donors who wish to help elevate the impact of dining for the greater good can make a tax-deductible donation through the Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s) page on our website. This Olympic season, let’s make solidarity and sustainability the strongest flavors on our plate.
To learn more about Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s), check out our article about their initiatives. For more about how the students are trained and what’s cooking at La Salamandre, find all the details in Joy Anderson’s article.
