Centre de Recherche et d'Études pour l'Alimentation (The Culinary Research and Education Academy or CREA) is a culinary academy and

food science Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...

think tank that provides training and consultation services for food industry professionals in the

sous-vide Sous vide (; French for 'under vacuum'), also known as low-temperature, long-time (LTLT) cooking, is a method of cooking invented by the France, French chef Georges Pralus in 1974, in which food is placed in a plastic pouch or a glass jar and coo ...

cooking method, as well as other food-forward techniques. CREA was established in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1991 by

Bruno Goussault Bruno Goussault (born 26 January 1942) is a French scientist, economist, inventor, and chef. He is best known for developing and promoting the modern sous-vide (French for "under vacuum") method of cooking. Before becoming the Chief Scientist at Cu ...

and is the service arm of its parent company,

Cuisine Solutions Cuisine Solutions is an American premium foods company that specializes in the sous-vide method of cooking and meal preparation. Originally founded in 1971 under the name Vie de France, the company now maintains headquarters and manufacturing fac ...

History

Credited with developing modern sous-vide,

’s work with low-temperature, under-vacuum cooking dates back to the 1970s, during which he conducted a study that demonstrated how cooking beef shoulder sous-vide extended its shelf life to 60 days. Following a partnership with three-star chef

Joël Robuchon Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' (France's best worker) in cuisine in 197 ...

in the 1980s to create a menu featuring sous-vide prepared foods for the

Société nationale des chemins de fer français The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

(

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

, "National society of French railways" or "French National Railway Corporation"), France's national train system, Goussault received encouragement from Robuchon to open a sous-vide training center. CREA opened its doors in Paris in 1991 to teach students the proper techniques and safety precautions necessary for sous-vide cooking. Since then, Goussault and his team of food engineers and culinary professionals have helped to train over 80% of chefs with three

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

stars, including

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...

, Yannick Alléno,

Anne-Sophie Pic Anne-Sophie Pic (, born 12 July 1969) is a French chef best known for regaining three Michelin stars for her restaurant, Maison Pic, in southeast France. She is the fourth female chef to win three Michelin stars, and was named the Best Female ...

, Guy Savoy, and Michel Bras.

Courses & offerings

In addition to holding sous-vide courses at its Paris location, CREA has expanded to offer training sessions at its

Test Kitchen A test kitchen is a kitchen used for the process of developing new kinds of food. On the largest scale, they are run by the research and development departments of large companies in the food industry. Other test kitchens are owned by individuals ...

Sterling, Virginia Sterling refers most specifically to a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population of the CDP as of the 2020 United States Census was 30,337 The CDP boundaries are confined to a relatively small area between Virginia ...

, global seminars, and on-site customized instruction at food organizations around the world. CREA also offers online courses on culinary techniques such as the sous-vide method, mixology, butchery, food safety, and food quality. Aside from its training classes, CREA provides full-service consultation to various stakeholders in the food industry, including menu engineering, quality assurance, food safety, food quality, kitchen design, facility development, labor reduction, operational excellence, and equipment procurement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes pour l'Alimentation Cooking schools