EICJ - Escuela Internacional de Cortadores de Jamón

What EICJ - Escuela Internacional de Cortadores de Jamón does

EICJ (Escuela Internacional de Cortadores de Jamón), operated by the Spanish private limited company INNOVA JAMON, S.L. (registered March 2012), is a vocational training institution specializing in professional Spanish jamón (cured ham) cutting. The school is led by founder and master instructor Jesús Serrano, a first-level Sensory Analyst who has personally cut thousands of hams and authored two industry reference manuals. Its core offering is a 10-hour professional ham cutting course delivered in-person across 9 Spanish cities — Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Málaga, Murcia, Jaén, Cáceres, and Guadalajara — with additional city-specific editions in Alicante, Segovia, Toledo, and Ciudad Real. Complementary courses cover knife maintenance and sharpening (4 hours), event strategy for large-scale service (5 hours), and sensory analysis/tasting (Sensojamón). The institution has trained over 10,000 students who form the #FamiliaEICJ community.

The business model is built on three revenue streams: (1) one-time course fees ranging from €245–€265 per enrollment, (2) branded product sales through a WooCommerce e-commerce store including EICJ-branded knives (€13–€87), ham stands (€65–€78), and Serrano's published books (€17–€35), and (3) indirect value delivered through a private alumni job board (Bolsa de Empleo) connecting graduates with employers across Spain and internationally. The go-to-market is event-driven, with scheduled course dates published across multiple locations throughout the year. Customers span hospitality professionals (chefs, caterers, event organizers), career changers seeking professional certification, and enthusiast consumers interested in home cutting technique. International demand is evidenced by students traveling from Mexico, South Korea, and Japan, though the company does not formally claim a global footprint. The company is bootstrapped, privately held, and operates with approximately 6 employees from its headquarters at the Geolit Science and Technology Park in Mengíbar, Jaén.

Name

EICJ - Escuela Internacional de Cortadores de Jamón

Legal name

INNOVA JAMON, S.L.

Website

https://escueladeljamon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EICJ is a Spanish vocational training school specializing in professional jamón cutting, offering in-person courses across 9 Spanish cities plus branded tools, published books, and an alumni job board, led by founder Jesús Serrano.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Culinary Training

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training) (EDAOAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Safety & Workplace Sanitation (HACCP, Hygiene) (EDABAEAN), Training & Competency Programs (Food Safety, HACCP, PCQI, Internal Auditor) (AFALANAF)

Keywords

• Professional ham cutting
• Vocational culinary training
• Jamón carving courses
• Culinary knife skills
• Butchery education

Headquarters

HQ city

Mengíbar (Jaén)

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Course Fees: Revenue generated from professional jamón cutting courses, knife sharpening courses, event strategy courses, and jamón tasting courses. Course fees range from 245-265 EUR for the main professional cutter course.
2. Product Sales: Sale of professional knives (jamonero, deshuesador, puntilla curva), jamón holders/supports, books authored by Jesús Serrano, and accessories including manguitos and pinzas. Products sold via e-commerce.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EICJ is a vocational training school that teaches the craft of professional ham cutting (cortador de jamón) through in-person courses delivered across nine Spanish cities. The school supplements its training with branded merchandising — knives, jamón stands, and books authored by founder Jesús Serrano — and connects graduates to employers through an alumni job board.

Product overview

EICJ (Escuela Internacional de Cortadores de Jamón) is a vocational training school for professional ham cutting, operated by INNOVA JAMON, S.L. The company offers a portfolio of classroom-based courses centered on ham cutting techniques, knife maintenance, event strategy, and ham tasting assessment. The core offering is the Curso de Cortador Profesional de Jamón, a 10-hour practical course taught by founder Jesús Serrano across 9 Spanish cities. Complementary courses include knife sharpening (4 hours) and event strategy (5 hours), plus city-specific editions of the cutting course. The company also operates an e-commerce store selling EICJ-branded professional knives, ham stands, and books authored by Jesús Serrano. A private job board connects alumni with employment opportunities. The product ecosystem centers on in-person professional training augmented by branded tools, educational publications, and employment services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Reportera del Jamón: A journalistic/interview series featuring personalities and institutions related to the Iberian ham universe.

Products and services

• Curso de Cortador Profesional de Jamón

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Basque Culinary Center: Spain's flagship culinary higher-education institution offering professional chef training. Comparable to EICJ as a Spanish vocational culinary school with a strong brand, multiple programs, and a published content ecosystem, though operating at a broader culinary-skill level.
• Escuela de Hostelería y Turismo de Madrid: Madrid-based vocational hospitality school offering courses in catering, culinary arts, and food service. Comparable to EICJ as a Spanish vocational culinary training provider serving hospitality professionals and career changers.

Emerging players

• Interpolitan (Iberian ham education/tourism tours): Spain-based food tourism and gastronomic experiences provider, including ham-related tours in Extremadura/Jaén. Comparable to EICJ as an adjacent operator in the Iberian ham experiential/tourism space that could either partner with or compete for the culinary tourist audience.

Others

• Fundación Dieta Mediterránea: Spanish foundation promoting Mediterranean food culture and gastronomy including Iberian products. Adjacent to EICJ as an ecosystem-body that promotes culinary education, certification, and content related to jamón — a potential content or accreditation partner.
• Arcos Hermanos: Spain's leading professional knife manufacturer, including ham carving knives and jamóneros. Adjacent to EICJ because EICJ sells branded knives (jamonero, deshuesador, puntilla) that compete in the same category; an obvious supplier partner or competitor in the meat-cutting tool category.
• 3 Claveles: Spanish manufacturer of professional kitchen knives including ham cutting knives. Adjacent to EICJ as a manufacturer/vendor in the same product category (jamonero knives, supports) that EICJ sells under its own brand.

Broad incumbents

• Culinary Institute of America (CIA): World-renowned US culinary higher education institution. Comparable to EICJ as a fee-based premium culinary vocational school with a published content library and international alumni network, though with a much broader culinary curriculum.
• Le Cordon Bleu Madrid: Global culinary education brand with a Madrid campus teaching professional cooking, pastry, and hospitality. Comparable to EICJ as a fee-based culinary vocational training provider in Spain, though far broader in scope and international in reach.

Regional players

• Centro de Estudios Superiores Culinarios y de Hostelería (CESCH): Spanish culinary vocational school offering professional kitchen and hospitality training. Comparable to EICJ as a domestic Spanish vocational training provider in the same culinary training segment.
• Escuela Superior de Hostelería de Sevilla (ESH Sevilla): Andalusian hospitality school based in Sevilla offering vocational culinary training. Comparable to EICJ given overlapping geographic footprint (Sevilla/Málaga) and target audience of hospitality professionals in Southern Spain.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eicj

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EICJ - Escuela Internacional de Cortadores de Jamón