Emiri Tsushima​

Biography

Pastry had been her passion since she was a child. However, as she had an allergy to certain nuts, she thought being a pastry chef was impossible for her. Emiri studied media communication in Japan and the USA, as well as taking various university courses in the UK and Taiwan. She loved to discover new cultures. Once she graduated, she decided to work as a marketer for a global company. She enjoyed her job, but she was always concerned about the job she will do during the next 40 years. ​

At the same time, she discovered her allergy was not to the nuts often used in pastry. It opened her mind and she decided to make a shift in her career. For her, pastry means France. So, Emiri applied at ENSP’s bachelor. For three years, she learnt from training chef and classmates' pastry techniques and knowledge. She decided to get in school challenges, and she won twice the first prize of Boiron and Bragard challenges. Such a great opportunity to test what she had learned. As she was determined, Emiri managed to do her internship at Nicolas Bernardé, MOF pâtisserie, Maison Pic, 3 Michelin stars restaurants, Frère Ibarboure, 1 Michelin star restaurant and Waldorf Astoria in Versailles, 1 Michelin star restaurant. « Being a student of Ecole Ducasse was surely advantageous for finding internships, as it is recognized as one of the best pastry schools. » ​

These experiences helped her to understand the pastry jobs and to get a big picture of it. « during my internships, Chefs and pâtissiers were very motivated, kind and willing to teach me knowledge and techniques. I tried to speak French as much as I could. They kept patience and spared their time to explain pastry to me. It was full of learning.» ​

Her advice for students is to be proactive and to take advantage of resources of the school. Chef’s advice, support is not something we should take for granted. At École Ducasse, they would receive quality practical courses, which is full of learning and enjoyable thanks to chefs.