OVER 60 level 2 commis chef and culinary students from Trinity Moravian Skills Development Centre and Jonathan Grant High School CAP programme had the opportunity recently to experience the tourism product first-hand, during tours of Sandals Montego Bay.

The tours, which featured an introduction and overview by the resort’s General Manager Carl Beviere, and sessions with executive chef Gianluca Dicostanzo and executive sous chef Junior Mowatt, are part of the resort chain’s Tourism in School Programme, aimed at giving tourism/hospitality students a chance to be hands-on and interact with experts in the various departments on property.

“The Tourism in School experience at the resort is designed to give hospitality and high school students a chance to see our tourism product up front, as many have only done the theory but haven’t been to resorts such as those we have in the Montego Bay region, and so far the response has been phenomenal,” noted Sandals’ Regional Public Relations Manager Ian Spencer who, along with Regional Public Relations Coordinator Sherine Williams led the tours.

Dicostanzo schooled them in the operations of the kitchen and stressed the importance of not only having the practical skills but also the right attitude in order to gain meaningful employment as chefs within the industry. Once there, he said, they have to constant upgrade their knowledge and skills if they are to remain on the cutting edge of industry practices.

The executive chef also encouraged the students to cultivate passion for the profession, as it includes long hours and much sacrifice.

A lively question-and-answer session followed the lectures, with several the students expressing eagerness to enter the industry.

“We were very pleased with operations at Sandals Montego Bay and the experience [we had]. For many of us students, it was our first time touring a resort of this size and prestige, and we really soaked up all the information available,” Patricia Walker of Trinity Skills Centre said on behalf of her classmates.