Insert: Tomy Clément (Hotel del Coronado Photo – hoteldel.com)
Tomy Clément is a student at a Parisian hotel school.
By Christopher Bonin
In the summer of 2024, he interned at the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, where the kitchens are run by Chef Alain Ducasse, a leader in the global culinary world. Tomy, passionate about both food and surfing, dreams of one day working at iconic California hotels, like the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego or the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
Since 2023, the Alain Ducasse cooking school network and the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, with campuses in Colorado and Texas, have collaborated to create a new international academic curriculum, which is giving Tomy plenty to think about right now.
Tomy also studies the history of food. One of the figures who inspires him is James Hemings, the former slave who is considered the father of American cuisine. Hemings traveled to Paris at 19, in the service of Thomas Jefferson, the U.S. ambassador to France. He learned French to better understand European cooking, and through his work, introduced iconic dishes like meringue and Chantilly cream to America. Hemings’ story is a reminder of how deeply intertwined food and culture are—and how culinary history continues to shape the present.
It was during a trip to Pasadena that I encountered a student wearing a cap emblazoned with the words “Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts.” It made me wonder how many people truly understand Escoffier’s legacy. Just 40 kilometers from the Hôtel de Paris, in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, is the Auguste Escoffier Museum, dedicated to the man who revolutionized both hospitality and gastronomy. Escoffier’s innovations are still felt today, whether in the kitchens of top hotels or the influence of his work on modern chefs.
In fact, his spirit of transformation echoes in other fields as well. Take Will Cathcart, a former San Marino High School student and now the head of WhatsApp. His role in revolutionizing global communication mirrors the impact Escoffier had on the culinary world. WhatsApp, with its 487 million users in India alone, has connected people across the globe, sending over 100 billion messages every day. One of Cathcart’s former teachers, Patricia Allen Smith, a Pasadena resident, recalls his remarkable personality even as a high school student, remarking, “I thought he would go far… but I was far from imagining that he would become one of the major players in a global empire. I am proud to have been his teacher.”
Patricia, now retired, continues to use WhatsApp with ease. Meanwhile, Tomy, with his aspirations in hospitality and food, is dreaming of California’s legendary beaches and hotels. The legacies of Auguste Escoffier, James Hemings, and even Will Cathcart remind us that while the world changes, certain passions—whether for food, innovation, or global connection—remain timeless.
Leave a Reply