Samuel Judd, a third-year BA (Hons) in Culinary Arts student has been completing his work experience in Moderna, Italy since July. He has been working with Massimo Bottura, an Italian restaurateur and the chef patron of a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
International Academic Coordinator, Lorain Walsh, recently visited Samuel in Italy.
Lorain stated, “An integral part of BA (Hons) Culinary Arts programme is an exciting year of internationalisation in Year 3. Students study at an international partner university and partake in technical placement with an international placement partner.”
Samuel Judd is undertaking work experience with iconoclast culinarian Massimo Bottura, chef patron of Osteria Francescana. This is a three-Michelin-star restaurant based in Modena, Italy, that has received multiple World’s Best Restaurant awards, as well as a Chefs’ Choice Award.
Samuel has been under the placement supervision of head chef Allen Huynh, graduate of George Brown College, Toronto, Canada, a partner university of SETU. Samuel is undertaking extensive experiential learning, rotating within the Francescana family of establishments.
This includes work at Villa Manodori, Massimo Bottura’s luxury line of olive oils and balsamic vinegars, as well as volunteering at the social community project Tortellante, where disadvantaged community groups engage in educational therapy with chefs in tortellini making skills.
Since July, Samuel has been exposed to the rich diversity of Modenese gastronomy, excelling from basic foundational skills to responsibility within the ‘secondi’ section of Osteria Francescana. Samuel stated, “The opportunity to work with recognised global food creators has been amazing, it’s exhausting but exhilarating.”
Samuel looks forward to heading back home to Ireland in December, and then commencing study at Vives University, Bruges, Belgium in January 2025.
