Students join forces on concept design & development project
Combining their skills, creativity and expertise to create a pop-up catering concept within our campus – this is the mission that has been entrusted to the students of the MSc International Hospitality Management, in partnership with emlyon business school and the Master's Degree in Culinary Leadership and Innovation with the Concept Design & Development project.
Creating a unique, innovative and viable catering concept
Develop your concept, business plan & storytelling
The first phase of the project for our groups of students is the study, conceptualisation, and strategy phase of their restaurant. Objective: find your own concept, name it, and build the resulting Food & Beverage offer. The concept must absolutely be innovative, but above all it must be economically viable. The expertise and skills acquired during their training in hospitality and culinary innovation will be extremely useful to the students during this strategic phase, along with their ideas, and their sometimes very distinct points of view.
“The most interesting thing is to have the opportunity to actually carry out a restaurant project from A to Z. The collaboration between the two masters allows us to realise a complete project in theory, and in practice. The most challenging thing is the limited time available to set everything up as well as break everything down again. It is also a big challenge to work with people where some have no previous hospitality experience.”
In addition to the concept itself, there is a real market study and an examination of the profitability and sustainability of the restaurant that the students must create, while taking into account factors such as material costs, pricing strategy and human resources. A global and fully rounded study, just like in real life!
The students have a budget with which to set up their restaurant, but are also invited to look for sponsors who can help them with the purchase or supply of decor, crockery or any other needs identified by the students for their project to succeed. One hell of a challenge!
Two days to test concept in real conditions
Spread across front of house and the kitchen, the students of our Bac +5 have two days of set-up and then opening to test their restaurant concept in real conditions. Eight services in total to prove, in contact with real customers, the solidity of their project, the quality of the cuisine and service, as well as the overall experience provided. An immersive experience that aims to put clients – both internal and external to the Paul Bocuse Institute – at the heart of their concept and the experience that they have chosen to offer.
Only one team has slightly different rules for their project, with the mission of creating a pop-up bar tasked with handling the arrival and welcome of all the guests of the different concepts, while immersing them straight away in an initial conceptual framework. This year, the pop-up bar will be called Gate 7. The team will be composed 100% of students from the MSc International Hospitality Management course. Clients will be invited to choose their welcome cocktail in the cockpit of an aeroplane, designed and realised by our students, before flying off to the restaurant of their choice.
The restaurant concepts are distinguished by the type of cuisine offered and by their particular atmosphere: La Grande Table invites you to savour flame-grilled dishes infused with a smoky flavour, while all the dishes at La Feuilletée are centred around puff pastry, at Mamie Nous Invite the idea is to sit down as if to Sunday lunch with the family, Oléa provides a relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere, and at the Bus'Chetta food truck, you can enjoy excellent fresh bruschettas on the go.
The Concept Design & Development project implements the inventiveness, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to challenge oneself that we ask of our students. Our programmes train future leaders and visionaries in their sectors, armed with international experience.
This article was written by Institut Paul Bocuse https://en.institutpaulbocuse.com/ with photo credit to Foodisterie
