NEW DELHI, Tuesday, September 5, 2017: Nestle Professional, the global leaders in food and beverage solutions for the food service businesses, has joined hands with World Association of Chefs’ Societies, the global body of Chefs, to launch a virtual digital academy to enable youngsters to gain professional certification in culinary art. This online training academy will be piloted in India in December this year, before officially launching the same at the World Chef Congress in Kuala Lumpur in July, 2018.
Conceived to provide a platform for people from underprivileged sections of the society to gain entry into the culinary profession, this virtual academy will be powered through the Worldchefs online platform – www.worldchefs.org/academy – with 52 modules, with each module having video, learning and practicals which can be completed from home kitchens.
Sharing the objectives and the features of the program with Hospitality Biz, Rochelle Schaetzi, Business Capacity Development Manager, Nestle Professional said that the vision behind the initiative is to create a sustainable world where everyone gets equal opportunity for livelihood. “I always believed that a hungry man is an angry man. Only way we can change the world is by giving people an opportunity to take care of themselves. Culinary profession is one which never discriminates people,” she said.
The whole online program and certification are free for aspiring chefs. The whole initiative is supported by Pro Gastronomia Foundation of Nestle, which supports and promote culinary education in developing countries. “Two years ago an opportunity came for the foundation to pay out a capital lump sum to the beneficiaries which share similar values of the foundation. I proposed this program to the Foundation and got its approval,” she said.
Earlier, speaking at the seventh International Chefs Conference organised by Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA), Schaetzi said that hospitality industry is not known for high remunerations and therefore prone to one of the highest turnover ratios. Therefore, the industry needs to have an integrated approach to attract, recruit, develop and retain young talent.
By P Krishna Kumar
Reprinted from: http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=27637&sid=1
