Hydro-Québec
(Quebec’s electric power utility)

On May 21, 1997, the Institute signed two memorandums of understanding with Hydro-Québec. The first one aimed at maintaining the use of electricity as the main source of energy to heat rooms and domestic hot water at the ITHQ, in the spirit of better energy efficiency.

The second memorandum prescribed the creation by the Centre de recherche appliquée (CRA - Applied Research Centre) of an experimental kitchen and a cooking demonstration room equipped with new generation electrical cooking equipment, such as combination ovens and induction hotplates. This agreement solidified the ITHQ’s commitment to help businesses in the foodservice and restaurant sectors develop culinary uses for ill-known, unknown or under-used Quebec products, and promote their consumption and marketing.

The CRA’s experimental kitchen and cooking demonstration room were officially inaugurated on April 28, 1998. The cooking demonstration room was named the Hydro-Québec room to honour the exceptional contribution of this government corporation in the creation of these new rooms.

More recently, on August 26, 2003, the ITHQ and Hydro-Québec concluded a new agreement to promote the use of electricity for cooking. Thanks to a $200,000 financial contribution from Hydro-Quebec, the production kitchen of the Hôtel de l’Institut (Institute Hotel) is a technological showcase of the different facets of electrical cooking for companies in the hotel, restaurant, and foodservice sectors. Not only is this kitchen equipped with leading-edge cooking appliances, it also has state-of-the-art equipment illustrating the different uses of electricity in the kitchen: ventilation, water heating, and energy management.

SOCIÉTÉ DES ALCOOLS DU QUÉBEC (SAQ)
(Quebec Liquor Board)

An agreement with the SAQ was signed on November 21, 1997 to ensure the training of highly-skilled professionals for the sommellerie field.

This agreement made it possible to create an advanced sommellerie training program that meets new requirements in the restaurant industry, as well as a sommellerie and oenology room, which was unveiled on January 17, 2000.

The sommellerie and oenology room, called the SAQ room, is equipped with specialized state-of-the-art equipment as well as a wine cellar specially designed for teaching sommellerie. It is also used for the Programme de spécialisation en sommellerie (Sommellerie Specialization Program), other courses on wine, and for wine tastings.

METRO inc.
(a major Quebec supermarket chain)

On January 22, 2002, METRO inc. made a commitment to support the ITHQ Programme de formation supérieure en cuisine (Advanced Cooking Training Program) and to thus encourage the use of regional products while training a new generation of cooks.

Thanks to a five-year $125,000 investment from this major company, known for its commitment to promote Quebec agro-food products, the Institute can enrich its training program by offering  modern equipment to its students, by welcoming internationally recognized chefs as guest instructors, and by organizing additional professional and educational activities in this field.

In order to emphasize METRO INC.’s important contribution, the ITHQ’s advanced cooking training classroom is now called the METRO room.

Meeting Professionals International (MPI)

The Montreal chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), an international organization specialized in the organization of large events and conferences, signed a memorandum of understanding with the ITHQ on September 20, 2002 to promote the training of highly-skilled personnel in this field.

Since then, students who enroll in the ITHQ’s new Coordination d’événements et de congrès (Conference and Events Coordination) program automatically become a student member of MPI, which gives them access to the organization’s broad network of 17,000 members in 64 countries. Once they earn their Diploma of College Studies, these students are given the opportunity to write the Certified Meeting Professional accreditation test, which offers international recognition.

The Leading Hotel Schools of the World

Thanks to its university component and the quality of its tourism, hospitality and food service management programs, the ITHQ has been admitted as a member of The Leading Hotel Schools of the World (LHSW), an international organization of academic institutions dedicated to developing management skills among the staff of the world's top hotels. Members are selected on the basis of innovative course content and unconventional academic approach that meet the requirements of the finest hotels in the world. The ITHQ is the organization's sole Canadian representative.

The LHSW is affiliated with The Leading Hotels of the World, a New York-based organization comprised of 450 luxury hotels. ITHQ students and graduates will therefore be able to do their internships or apply for interesting positions within these establishments, which are located all around the world. As a member institution, the ITHQ has committed to exchanging information and taking part in research projects with the other hotel schools and universities that are members of the LHSW. The latter and the ITHQ share a common goal: ensuring that the hotel industry is led by experts who have an advanced understanding and strategic vision of management, and who can provide clients with unparalleled service.

University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM)
(Université du Québec à Montréal)

In 1991, the ITHQ teamed up with UQAM to offer students enrolled in the undergraduate Tourism and Hotel Management Program a concentration in hotel and foodservice management. Today, this concentration has more than 40% of the students enrolled in the undergraduate program.

In September 2002, two new components were added to the university-level training offered by the ITHQ in partnership with UQAM. The UQAM Perfectionnement en gestion (Management Development) certificate would now include a hotel and restaurant orientation offered by the ITHQ. In addition, a whole new concept of an integrated College  Diploma/Bachelor’s Degree in hotel and restaurant management has been developed for ITHQ students enrolled in the programs Gestion appliquée en restauration (Applied Restaurant Management) and Gestion en hôtellerie internationale (International Hotel Management). This integrated program allows students to complete a college and undergraduate university program in tourism and hotel management with a concentration in restaurant and hotel management in only five years rather than in six.

LYCÉE PAUL-AUGIER

These four renowned training institutions, located in the United States, France, and Italy, have concluded individual agreements with the ITHQ to pool each institution’s strengths, given the reputation they have in their country, as well as their common interests with the ITHQ. The agreements signed with Kendall College (2001), the ESCF (1991, 1998, 2001), IPSSARR (1998) and Lycée Paul-Augier (2005) essentially aim at organizing internships, seminars, and industrial visits for their students in Chicago, France, the Emilia Romagna region of Italy or Quebec, as well as organizing teacher exchanges between these institutions and the ITHQ within the scope of a joint development program for teaching personnel.

LA SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE DI CUCINA ITALIANA ALMA

On February 22, 2005, the ITHQ and the Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana Alma signed an agreement to establish a new ITHQ signature brand program in advanced Italian cuisine, designed for ITHQ graduates in Cuisine professionnelle, option Cuisine italienne (Professional Cooking, Italian Option) and for graduates in professional cooking from other Quebec hotel schools who have taken a retraining course at the Institute. This program includes internships and industrial visits and seminars in Italy in order to provide students with educational and intercultural enrichment. Thanks to the scholarship fund established by the Magnani-Montaruli Foundation and Montreal’s Italian Trade Commission, the most deserving students of this joint program can obtain financial support in order to complete an internship program in Italy.