The École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (ENSP) located in Yssingeaux , in the French department of Haute-Loire, inaugurated the extension works in the presence of Alain Ducasse, director of the École Ducasse, Benoît-Etienne Domenget, CEO of Sommet Education, Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and Pierre Liogier, mayor of Yssingeaux. Three new classrooms, four laboratories and 36 new student accommodations will be added to the historic castle site for a total of 2,300 m2, thanks to a project by the developers of Atrium in collaboration with Alliade Habitat.
Founded in 1984 and taken over in 2007 by Alain Ducasse and Yves Thuriès, in 40 years the ENSP has established itself as a leading pastry training organization on the international scene (with choccolate, confectionery, gelato e breadmaking classes). Today it hires 17 pastry chefs and 25 teachers for the academic courses, and it welcomes 1,500 students of 60 different nationalities throughout the year. Faced with a rich offer of postgraduate courses – such as the three-year French Pastry Arts; CAP programs, such as the two-month Essentials of French Pastry Arts or the eight-month French Pastry Arts Diploma; plus a catalog of 68 of professional classes – the application demand has grown exponentially. Hence the decision to expand.