Elena Kalmykova
A self-professed ‘foodie by heart’, Elena Kalmykova left Russia and a career as a historian to fulfil her dream of becoming a pastry chef, joining FERRANDI Paris’ ‘Intensive Professional Program in French Pastry in February 2017.
Having undertaken 5 months’ intensive pastry training at our central Paris campus, Elena describes FERRANDI Paris as ‘one of the strongest academic institutions’, and believes the excellent practical and theoretical education she received was a great starting point for her career. The professional prospects following this program are enhanced, she says, by the network of graduates which stretches all over the world.
Elena then interned for 6 months at the iconic Café Pouchkine - a ‘motivating and competitive’ environment where she benefited from equal treatment and the patience and attention of her supervisors, learning a lot about the running of a professional pastry business, applying and reinforcing the knowledge she acquired at school.
She then went on to work as a pastry chef at the prestigious Trianon Palace Versailles, responsible for brunches and banquets. Far from remaining inactive during the lockdown period, she has been working hard on creativity and developing new recipes. She currently works at Neva cuisine as a Pastry Chef.
Having recently finished her contract, she is on the look-out for a new challenge in pastry, to take the next step in her career.
Through the vigorous and highly practical training she received at FERRANDI Paris and the career that followed, she has learned the importance of being prepared. She emphasizes the utmost importance of knowing how to organize yourself and your time, and the role this plays in your level of performance.