Professor David Khayat, G&G Pélisson Foundation Administrator, talks about his involvement in our projects.
When the Board of Directors of the G&G Pélisson Foundation asked me to join them as an administrator, I considered it to be an honour, a privilege and a duty.
“Dear friends,
It is a pleasure for me to offer you this account of my commitment to Institut Paul Bocuse and my collaboration with the G&G Pélisson Foundation.
Allow me first of all to introduce myself. My name is Professor David Khayat, and for almost 30 years I was Head of the Medical Oncology Department at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. I was the founder and the first President of the National Cancer Institute, responsible for the nationwide plan to fight against cancer at the time when I was, from 2002 to 2006, Advisor to the President of the Republic, Mr Jacques Chirac.
All my life, I have had a passion and involvement in everything to do with gastronomy and, more generally, with food and the culinary arts.
I also worked for some time on the links between diet and cancer and, more generally, between diet and health. This has led me to get involved with leading figures from the world of gastronomy, and also to actually learn the art of cooking thanks to a number of my friends who are Chefs.
When the Board of Directors of the G&G Pélisson Foundation asked me to join them as an administrator, I considered it to be an honour, a privilege and a duty.
An honour because this School is probably one of the most incredible and fantastic Institutes training students for careers across the full range of professions associated with the hospitality, food service and culinary arts industry.
A privilege because this involvement in the work of the Foundation’s board of directors was a way for me to meet professors and students from all over the world, bringing with them their culture and their backgrounds, as well as their ambitions and their dreams. It was also an opportunity to collaborate more closely with those at the Institute who work specifically on the themes of the links between health and food.
And finally, a duty because for more than 30 years I was a professor of medicine at the Pierre and Marie Curie Faculty of Medicine, which means that I have always been very involved in the training of young people, and in the creation and transmission of knowledge. Keeping this commitment alive through the courses developed at Institut Paul Bocuse was a way for me to continue my role as an educator.
I hope that my expertise, both in terms of teaching and the principles of good nutrition, will make a positive contribution to the work carried out by Institut Paul Bocuse and the G&G PELISSON Foundation.”
Professor David KHAYAT
Former President and Founder of the National Cancer Institute
Professor of Medical Oncology