Category: Member News

The Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP) and College of Tourism & Hotel Management (COTHM) Pakistan have established a new Centre for Food Safety & Hygiene, a dedicated facility focused on advancing food safety education, hygiene standards, professional competency, and compliance within Pakistan’s hospitality and foodservice sectors.

The Centre responds to an essential need within the hospitality and food industry: developing professionals who understand food safety not only as a regulatory requirement, but as a fundamental professional responsibility.

Designed as a platform for training, awareness, research, and professional development, the Centre will promote best practices in food handling, sanitation, hygiene, quality assurance, risk management, and food safety compliance.

Through specialized training programmes, workshops, certification opportunities, and practical learning experiences, students and industry professionals will be able to strengthen their understanding of how food safety principles are applied in real working environments. These include hotels, restaurants, bakeries, catering businesses, commercial kitchens, food production facilities, and other foodservice establishments.

For students pursuing careers in culinary arts, hospitality, hotel management, tourism, and foodservice, the Centre offers an opportunity to develop essential competencies in hygiene management, contamination prevention, safe food handling, cleaning and sanitation procedures, and risk awareness.

Practical learning will also help participants develop the judgement needed to identify potential risks, respond appropriately to safety concerns, follow established procedures, and maintain high standards in demanding operational environments.

The initiative comes as Pakistan’s hospitality, tourism, culinary, and food sectors continue to grow, alongside increasing expectations around hygiene, quality, and food safety. By creating greater opportunities for structured training and professional development, the Centre aims to support a workforce better prepared to meet these expectations.

The Centre further reflects the commitment of CAP and COTHM Pakistan to raising standards across the culinary and hospitality industry. By bringing education, professional training, industry practices, and food safety awareness together under one dedicated platform, the initiative encourages students and professionals to view food safety as a continuous culture of discipline, accountability, learning, and improvement.

On the occasion of World Youth Skills Day 2026, the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP) and College of Tourism & Hotel Management (COTHM) Pakistan organized two student activities designed to strengthen the practical, professional, and interpersonal skills of young people and prepare them for their future careers.

The first activity focused on Tourism Management students, who prepared and delivered presentations on domestic and international airports in Pakistan. Students researched airport facilities, tourism connectivity, passenger services, and the role of airports in supporting Pakistan’s tourism industry.

Rather than simply gathering information, students were challenged to transform their research into structured and engaging presentations. The activity helped strengthen their research, information management, analytical thinking, communication, and presentation skills, while giving them practical experience in public speaking and greater confidence in expressing their ideas.

The second activity was a Presentation Competition for students from Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, and Hotel Management, centered on the theme “The Importance of Skill Development for Youth Employment.”

The competition encouraged students to reflect on the importance of technical knowledge, practical abilities, communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and other professional competencies in securing and succeeding in employment.

Students were also encouraged to support their speeches with PowerPoint presentations, developing visual communication skills alongside public speaking. Preparing their presentations required them to select relevant information, structure their arguments, design supporting visuals, and communicate their message within a professional format.

Presenting before peers and evaluators gave students practical experience in communicating under pressure, maintaining professional body language, engaging an audience, and presenting ideas with clarity and confidence. These skills extend beyond academic assignments into interviews, meetings, presentations, customer interactions, leadership roles, and other workplace environments.

Importantly, the initiative encouraged students to view skills development as a continuous process rather than something limited to academic qualifications. By focusing on youth employment, students explored how employability depends not only on what they know, but also on how effectively they can communicate, collaborate, solve problems, demonstrate confidence, and apply their knowledge in practical situations.

These activities reflect the commitment of the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP) and COTHM Pakistan to youth development and industry-focused education. By combining education with practical experience, the initiative gave students opportunities to participate, communicate, compete, and build skills relevant to their future careers.

Through World Youth Skills Day 2026, CAP and COTHM Pakistan highlighted the importance of preparing young people not only with academic knowledge, but also with the communication, presentation, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and professional skills needed to enter the workplace with confidence.

Building a strong food safety culture takes more than standards alone. It requires practical education, skilled professionals, and collaboration at every level.

This shared commitment took centre stage in Pakistan during the recent visit of Richard Sprenger, Chairman of Highfield Group UK, hosted by COTHM Pakistan and the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP), a Worldchefs member association. Through professional training, institutional exchanges, and the inauguration of a new Centre for Food Safety and Hygiene, the initiative brought together key stakeholders to strengthen skills, standards, and long-term collaboration across the country.

Raising Professional Standards

Richard Sprenger, Chairman of Highfield Group UK and a globally renowned food safety expert, trained over 150 professionals and engaged with regulatory bodies, academia, and industry leaders during his landmark visit to COTHM Pakistan, strengthening the country’s food safety ecosystem and its alignment with international standards.

Invited by COTHM Pakistan and the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan (CAP), the visit quickly evolved beyond formal meetings into a national dialogue on food safety transformation, bringing together regulatory authorities, academia, and industry stakeholders under a shared global vision.

Over 150 professionals were trained during the visit, while multiple institutions across provinces were actively engaged, reinforcing a central message: food safety is not compliance alone, but a culture that must be practised consistently at every level.

During his engagements in Lahore, the Punjab Agriculture, Food and Drug Authority (PAFDA) hosted Richard Sprenger for a high-level technical exchange with senior leadership, including Director General Dr Talat Naseer Pasha and Member Food Dr Muhammad Nasir.

He also addressed around 100 scientists and food technologists, delivering an in-depth session on modern food safety governance, international best practices, and the shift towards risk-based inspection models and competency-driven enforcement systems.

The session further emphasized Pakistan’s growing scientific capacity and the importance of continuous professional development in meeting evolving global challenges in food safety.stry.

A Milestone for Food Safety Education

During the visit, Nestlé Professional served as the main collaborator, playing a central role in enabling the Gold Standard Training sessions and supporting the technical delivery of professional development activities.

Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore was the official Hospitality Partner, Rose Petal Professional acted as the Hygiene Partner, and McDonald’s Pakistan joined as the Food Partner.

Richard Sprenger also toured COTHM and the Chocolate Academy, interacted with students, and inaugurated key learning facilities, appreciating the institutions’ applied learning philosophy.

A major milestone of the visit was the inauguration of the Centre for Food Safety and Hygiene, marking a significant advancement in competency-based food safety education in Pakistan.

Connecting Research, Regulation, and Industry

Richard Sprenger also visited the head office of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), where detailed discussions were held on laboratory systems, research alignment, and the development of a structured collaboration framework between COTHM, the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan, Highfield Group UK, and PCSIR for training and certification.

The engagements continued at Rescue 1122 Headquarters, where an in-depth knowledge exchange session was conducted with senior officials on emergency preparedness, disaster response systems, and food safety risk management during crises.

Later, he visited McDonald’s Pakistan, where food safety systems, quality assurance, and global operational compliance were observed in a live working environment. The visit concluded with strong mutual interest in establishing a formal collaboration with Highfield Group UK for training and certification development.

The series of engagements concluded with a high-level panel discussion at the Ali Institute of Education, in collaboration with Rose Petal Professional and McDonald’s Pakistan, where academia, industry leaders, and regulatory experts addressed systemic gaps and the urgent need for harmonized, competency-based national food safety standards aligned with global frameworks.

Building Momentum for Lasting Change

Across all engagements, from regulatory authorities and laboratories to hotels, production facilities, emergency services, and academic institutions, Richard Sprenger’s visit consistently reinforced a unified message: food safety is not merely compliance, but a culture of discipline, practice, and continuous improvement.

“Food safety is not just a system; it is a culture that must be practised consistently at every level,” said Richard Sprenger.

Ahmad Shafiq, Founder, President and CEO of COTHM Pakistan and COTHM Global UK, expressed his gratitude to Richard Sprenger for visiting Pakistan and contributing significantly to the upskilling of Pakistani professionals.

He acknowledged that Richard Sprenger’s engagements with institutions, regulatory authorities, academia, and industry stakeholders have opened new avenues for international collaboration, competency-based training, and globally aligned food safety practices in Pakistan.

Ahmad Shafiq further stated that such international collaborations are essential for strengthening Pakistan’s hospitality, food production, and regulatory sectors while preparing professionals to meet evolving global standards.

The visit of Richard Sprenger emerged as a catalyst for long-term transformation in Pakistan’s food safety landscape. It strengthened institutional collaboration, expanded professional capacity, and accelerated alignment with international standards, leaving behind sustained momentum towards a more structured, competent, and globally aligned food safety system.

Through initiatives like this, the Chefs’ Association of Pakistan and COTHM Pakistan are helping to raise professional standards while contributing valuable knowledge and experience to the wider Worldchefs community. Their work reflects the important role culinary organisations can play in building a stronger food safety culture, both locally and across the global industry.

Across the Worldchefs community, chefs and culinary institutions continue to show that hospitality reaches far beyond the kitchen. In Pakistan, COTHM Group of Colleges, in strategic partnership with the Chefs Association of Pakistan (CAP), has demonstrated this spirit through a major humanitarian blood donation initiative supporting patients in urgent need of care.

Over the past two years, COTHM Group of Colleges and CAP have donated approximately 1,000 blood bags through a series of blood donation drives conducted in collaboration with various blood collection and welfare organizations, including the Sundas Foundation and other reputable blood banks.

These contributions have provided critical support to patients suffering from life-threatening conditions such as thalassemia, hemophilia, blood cancer, including leukemia, and other medical emergencies requiring regular blood transfusions.

The large-scale donation campaign was carried out across multiple campuses in Punjab, including COTHM New Garden Town – Lahore, COTHM Johar Town – Lahore, COTHM Sarai Alamgir, COTHM Islamabad, COTHM Rawalpindi, and COTHM Jail Road – Lahore. Students, faculty members, and administrative staff actively participated in recurring blood donation drives, reflecting a sustained institutional commitment to community welfare and public health support.

Medical sources associated with the initiative noted that each blood bag can be processed into different components, allowing a single donation to support multiple patients according to their medical needs. This approach significantly increases the humanitarian impact of every donation.

A representative from the Sundas Foundation acknowledged the contribution, highlighting that the availability of safe and timely blood supply remains one of the most pressing challenges in treating thalassemia and cancer patients in Pakistan. He emphasized that partnerships with educational institutions such as COTHM play a vital role in bridging this gap and ensuring continuity of care for registered patients.

COTHM Group of Colleges reaffirmed its commitment to continuing blood donation drives in the future, stating that these efforts not only support critical healthcare needs but also help instill a deeper sense of humanitarian responsibility among students and staff.

More than a donation drive, this initiative is a strong example of care in action. COTHM Group of Colleges and the Chefs Association of Pakistan have shown how organized efforts can make a real difference in moments where timely support can be life-saving.