The Institute of Engineering Geophysics and Offshore Development Services and the Central School of Culinary Arts, Guyana, is a collaborative business initiative that combines the specialist skills and talents of John and Angela Applewhite-Hercules, a Guyanese couple with an ambition to grow and to give. John is a qualified Geologist and Angela a University of the West Indies-trained Dietician and between them they are committed to raising standards in sectors that are set to play an increasingly important role in Guyana’s development.
In October and November, the two business enterprises, in collaboration with the Central School of Culinary Arts in Trinidad and Tobago, will combine to conduct its second training exercise comprising a series of Culinary Arts Short Courses. The initiative is a response to a desire to infuse a higher level of professionalism into persons and institutions already involved in the food industry or aspire to do so.
Between October 23rd and 27, the registrants will benefit from a five-day training exercise in commercial food preparation. The course will cost $60,000 and all cooking ingredients will be provided by the trainers.
On October 28th, the two partner institutions will commence a three-day course in Sugar Craft for Wedding Cakes which will continue on October 30th and 31st and which will cost participants $45,000. This will be followed by a subsequent three-day training programme, this time, in the preparation of Gourmet Cakes, from November 1-3. This programme will cost $45,000 per participant.
Angela told Stabroek Business that the Gourmet Cake Baking and Decorating Course seeks to target persons who either want to acquire a skill or upgrade an already existing competence. She said that the Course will offer theoretical instruction in tandem with hands-on, practical training in order to ensure that participants are well-rounded in what is a discipline that requires skill and application. The objective, she says, is to expose participants to a variety of cakes that can comprise the culinary offerings at buffets and as desserts. Vendors, she says, would be interested to know that instruction includes guidance in Show Case Decorating, a competence that can increase the marketability of the products. The Courses, she says, also seek to expose participants to a variety of toppings and coatings used in specialty cakes.
Training in the specialist skills aside, participants will be sensitized to understanding the importance of maintaining high standards of food service hygiene and workplace operating standards.
In July this year, the institution saw its first batch of Culinary Arts students graduating including seven participants in an Offshore Catering Course, four graduates in the Sugar Craft for Wedding Cakes course and five graduates in the Gourmet Cake-Baking and Decorating Course. A total of sixteen persons have already graduated with critical skills in several specialty areas.
Interested persons should call: 2267519 or 6187939
