Choosing Canada for My Culinary Program

By Soy Sreyline, LaSalle College Montreal

I graduated from Pannasastra University of Cambodia (PUC) in Business Administration. I had gained work experience in my third year at PUC, when I undertook a one-year exchange program between PUC and Silla University, Busan, South Korea. During the program, I worked at an English cafeteria located on-campus at Silla University, and I also taught conversational English to Korean students.

After I successfully completed my undergraduate degree at PUC, I worked full-time for a number of foreign enterprises and part-time as a Chinese-English tutor. I then resigned from these jobs, as I thought I was equipped with enough practical knowledge to launch my own business. I started a food counter in a shopping mall in 2015, which continues to be quite successful. My knowledge of food service, however, was limited. For that reason, I decided to enhance my cooking skills in order to expand my business and ultimately, open a unique new restaurant.

I arrived in Montreal, Canada, in September 2018. I chose Canada to pursue my dream for four main reasons:

1. When I did some research on overseas education systems, I discovered that Canada’s is one of the best.
2. I have some relatives living in Canada, so I knew I would be able to settle in easily.
3. Canada is a developed and safe country, and I knew I would be able to explore many new business ideas in Montreal, which is a very cosmopolitan city
4. Montreal is a French-speaking city. I love French, and I had always wanted to master it.

I am currently completing a one-year professional culinary program in French cuisine at LaSalle College, Montreal. The education system here is fabulous. The curriculum is practical, to effectively prepare students for real work when they graduate. The college also has its own restaurant to enable students to serve food directly to real customers. During the program, students attend and cook for many big events and, in some cases, for up to 1,300 people. In order to graduate, students have to complete an internship at a French restaurant located either in or outside Canada. I enjoy learning cooking in my class so much, and now have good friends from many different parts of the world. We cook, talk and test the food, which is way too much fun! On weekends, we explore the city, go shopping and eat new food at restaurants.

Since I arrived, I have learned a lot. There are daily challenges that I have to overcome, but I am very pleased to become a chef, because I have a strong passion for cooking and creating new menus. After I complete my culinary program, I will go back to Cambodia to develop my own restaurant. I would also love to become a teacher at a cooking school to share the skills that I have learned in Canada with Cambodian culinary students.