After the CIB: Aya Ajami

At the CIB · Culinary Institute of Barcelona, we love sharing our current and future CIBers' success stories. For some, the seed of entrepreneurship germinates early and comes into full bloom at the CIB. Others arrive with consolidated projects and seek to acquire valuable knowledge and skills to promote them.

This was Aya Ajami's case, a CIBer who decided to specialize in the PEC·H Integrative Healthy Cooking and ECD· Executive Chef Diploma programs in order to continue promoting her business project, Wild Nut. 

1. What did you do before the CIB?

2. What motivated you to study the ECD · Executive Chef Diploma?

3. What was your time at the CIB like? What would you highlight?

4. Has the CIB helped you in your professional transformation? How?

5. What are your next steps? Has the CIB opened up other job opportunities?

6. Would you recommend the CIB to prospective students?

What did you do before the CIB?

Before the CIB, I lived in Syria. I was fully committed to Wild Nut. I felt there were limitations in the food world. It was unusual to see people getting certified or specializing in specific aspects of gastronomy, even though they had more experience than me. I have always sought to take the best from the experiences and knowledge of others, and this sparked my desire to study and acquire new knowledge.

Tell us more about Wild Nut. Where did the idea come from?

The idea for Wild Nut was born during the Covid-19 lockdown. I was chatting with a friend about the possibility of creating good quality food products using natural and clean ingredients. That's how we started experimenting with food we would eat for breakfast, such as peanut butter and granola.

As we dove into cooking and glimpsed an opportunity to start a culinary movement in Syria. Thus, Wild Nut was born. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to devote all my time to cooking and make it a full-time job.

What motivated you to study the ECD · Executive Chef Diploma?

As my business started to grow, I realized that I needed to perfect my skills, take a leap into the career of Executive Chef, and acquire knowledge about the world of gastronomy from a business point of view, so I could take Wild Nut to the next level.

That was my main motivation. I started looking for cooking schools until I came across the CIB · Culinary Institute of Barcelona.  When I saw the School's innovative teaching approach and the ECD · Executive Chef Diploma program, I knew it was what I was looking for. That's how I merged my love for cooking with the world of finance, in order to understand how they come together in the business world…

If you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business

What was your time at the CIB like? What would you highlight?

My time at the CIB was incredible. Every detail is designed to make the students feel part of the same family. I would highlight:

1. The size of the CIB and its personalized learning. This created a synergy for getting to know each other within the multicultural community, and for working as a team. I believe that this combination of dynamics plus the CIB's methodology maximized our individual skills and talents.

2. The Explorer Campuses were the perfect activities to provide us with valuable knowledge and open our eyes to varied environments in the world of gastronomy, whilst creating the opportunity to establish professional contacts. 

3. The Challenges were very important. They were a chance for us to demonstrate our knowledge and skills in the kitchen. On the ECD · Executive Chef Diploma we had three Challenges focused on our immersion experience in PortAventura, where we received all the confidence and openness to understand the business in detail. We had the chance to collaborate with the management team and present innovative solutions to challenging real-world problems. It was a challenging and exciting experience that allowed us to really show off our creativity.

4. Being surrounded by professors who are true masters in the world of gastronomy was incredible. Learning how creativity and innovation are means for transforming basic dishes into a conceptual gastronomic proposal. I am grateful to have been immersed in an environment where we can appreciate the true beauty of food.

Has the CIB helped you in your professional transformation? How?

It definitely has. The knowledge I gained at the CIB has been invaluable for my professional growth. My transformation has also been the result of the demanding classes, the Campus Explorer, and the Challenges at PortAventura. The experience of working in such a large and important company absolutely gave me a new perspective in many aspects.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned is to implement strategies to plan ahead to avoid wasting time and money. Having a plan and following a rigorous process is something I consider vitally significant. Now, these steps are present in my mind and are part of the way I work.

What are your next steps, has the CIB opened up other job opportunities? 

The next steps for Wild Nut bode well for the future. I think that very soon we will no longer be a start-up. We have several changes planned, including the implementation of new and more rigorous quality control processes. Having an exceptional team behind me fills me with confidence and will allow us to achieve great things together.

Beyond Wild Nut, I've also had the opportunity to work in Barcelona, thanks to a contact I made networking with the speakers and professors who came to teach a class at the CIB · Culinary Institute of Barcelona. I will be working with them to learn more about how to successfully open and manage a restaurant. It is an exciting opportunity to continue to develop my professional career and gain valuable knowledge in the world of gastronomy. This connection would never have been possible without the CIB.

With the vision I now have of the restaurant industry, I would also like to venture into food consultation or restaurant consultation for small businesses that have specific menus. I would like to be able to help them build an innovative concept or find solutions to specific problems. This would be my dream job. 

I would definitely recommend the CIB. In fact, I want to highlight their commitment to make every student feel welcome. From the first Hello Day, you can feel their care and focus, the right tone of communication, and the constant guidance they provide at all times so that you never feel lost, and you really become part of the CIB world.

I also feel that there is a perfect harmony between keeping us active, open to ideas, always ready to imagine and propose new things, and demand the rigor hidden behind each of the Challenges and sessions. I believe that this allows the students remain focused on what needs to be done and for new results to be better than the previous ones.

You can learn more about Aya's venture on her Instagram account: @WildNut