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Let them eat cake: Pastry school APCA Indonesia opens in South Tangerang
Those with a passion for making pastries, bread or chocolate are blessed with the chance to make others happy with their creations.
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Pastry creations are presented at the inauguration of APCA Indonesia. (JP/Muthi Kautsar)
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hose with a passion for making pastries, bread or chocolate are blessed with the chance to make others happy with their creations. But when the pastry chef, baker or chocolatier wish to contribute to the culinary industry for their own benefit, that’s another story.
To help them, chef Louis Tanuhadi, a chocolate and pastry expert with vast experience including teaching at The Chocolate School by Tulip, one of the largest chocolate companies in Indonesia, recently established Academy of Pastry and Culinary Arts (APCA) Indonesia.
In the establishment of the school, Louis teamed up with award-winning pastry chef Niklesh Sharma, who founded the Academy of Pastry Arts Group with schools in Malaysia, the Philippines and India.
At the inauguration of APCA Indonesia earlier this year, Louis said he had been entertaining the idea of establishing a pastry school in Indonesia since around 2002.
“I said at the time, it was still too far-fetched to start a [pastry] school,” said Louis, who was studying with Jean Francois Arnaud, a Frenchman with the title Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF), which is bestowed on select artisans by the French Ministry of Labor.
Louis crossed paths with Sharma in 2011, when the latter envisioned opening a pastry school in Indonesia.
“They said we have to open in Indonesia, and if it is not happening now, we will be left behind,” Louis recalls in his school’s inauguration speech.
Louis expressed that he was driven to educate aspiring Indonesian pastry chefs to become champions on the global stage, especially since he had seen fellow Asian chefs in the international limelight. Japan and Singapore, for instance, and now Malaysia. Indonesia should not be left behind.
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Arnaud will be among the prominent pastry chefs teaching at APCA Indonesia, alongside master chocolatier Christophe Morel. Both were present at the inauguration, supervising young Indonesian pastry chefs who prepared all the desserts for guests of the inauguration night.
Louis took The Jakarta Post along with other guests to tour the APCA facility following his speech. There were rooms for ovens where students will bake cake and bread. The oven room is separated from the pastry kitchen to prevent overheating in the room where a colder temperature is required.
He explained that there were separate rooms for students to learn making pastry, bread and chocolate. Each room has its own specific equipment. During a nine-month study program, students will learn to make cakes and cookies for three straight months as part of the basic curriculum and then move on to boulangerie, chocolate, ice cream, sorbet, gelato and cake decoration.
APCA Indonesia is located at The Flavor Bliss in Alam Sutera Boulevard, South Tangerang, Banten. It occupies a stand-alone building amid cafes and restaurants.
A guest at the inauguration night asked Louis whether there would be a cafe in the APCA building.
“No, there are already so many cafes next door,” Louis answered with a laugh. “All the creations of students will have to be enjoyed by the students themselves.”
