Seasoned chef Peter Edey is on a mission to develop a new generation of culinary talent.
And in addition to all the ingredients from expertise found in Barbados, students at his training facility at Newton, Christ Church will also a get a taste of international cuisine through United States-based Lincoln Culinary Institute.
Edey gave details of the plans during a recent interview. He said that the emphasis was on people who wanted to learn to cook the Bajan way. Beyond learning to cook, they will also be certified.
Classes started a few months ago and are going well.
“It is done in conjunction with the Competency-Based Training Fund as well as the Technical and Vocational Education Training [Council]. The plan is to teach the whole island to cook,” he said.
“We have here a certified school and we’re going to have TVET’s [Caribbean Vocational Qualification] and [National Vocational Qualification] from here. There will be something tangible for the students and not only will they learn all the techniques in cooking but they will be certified when they come through this programme.”
He added: “It is a professional school with all the programmes set in there but it is flexible. There’s a timetable … so that people with busy schedules can come at different times. The modules are there but we offer them at different times, but you can get through all of them.
“The whole programme can cost about $500 but you don’t bring anything. We bring all the food, the knife sets. All you do is bring yourself and polo shirt, a dark pants or skirt, everything else is provided. It is 12 weeks, 24 sessions, four hours each, two sessions a week.”
Baking programmes are also in the works, the chef said.
“We have a link with the Lincoln Culinary Institute and [there will be] a certified pastry chef and a master baker. … [The master baker] is supposed to be coming here to do training programmes,” he added.
Furthermore, Edey noted that that outside of these sessions classes could be conducted for groups of people who want to learn how to cook and could include trips to the market. He noted the morning and afternoon sessions were already full. (GBM)