GREAT BAY– Sign-up for 24 positions of the SBO Chef level-2 course, that will begin in September, is scheduled for June 22 and 23rd.
On June 15th 11 young persons that indicated they had an interest in starting the SBO Chef level-2 course, visited the winery/restaurant Bacchus in Hope Estate, Saint Martin. These persons were given the opportunity to find out if they really want to delve into the occupational field of becoming a chef over a two-year period.
According to SBO, most of the youths have no experience in cooking other than preparing an occasional meal at home.
"They were very excited to find out that culinary arts extends to a level in which one can be asked to give advice to a customer about the right choice of wine for an item on the menu, how to smoke your own salmon and opening a bottle of wine at the table in a proper manner.
"They had fun with testing their sense of smell with several small bottles containing various essences like ginger and vanilla and by unravelling the information on wine labels," SBO Service Center Project Manager Saskia Kliphuis told the Government Information Service (GIS).
Restaurant owner Benjamin Laurent encouraged the interested young persons to pursue their education in the hospitality sector since local chefs are high in demand by all restaurants on both sides of the island.
Teachers Bart Peut and Ivette Vermue gave the potential students more in depth information about the full-time chef course, provided at the renovated Sundial kitchen by SVOBE, working in alliance with the well respected International Hospitality Division of ROC Mondriaan School in the Netherlands.
Evencia Seabrookes of the Sint Maarten Hospitality Trade Association (SHTA) explained that the course will include a bartender and waiter/waitress program from Carib Cert., which is recognized throughout the Caribbean and will give the potential student the opportunity to be competent in several areas of the restaurant business.
After a tour of 90 minutes the potential students took the bus, kindly provided free of charge by Sheneidi's Tours and Transport, back to Philipsburg.
Youths that would like to be included in the June 22 and 23rd intakes can call SBO Service Center, above Carl's and Sons, Philipsburg, 543-0498, for more information.
