Nadia Burnett and Shari Lashley, are the first two recipients of the newly launched Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) Culinary Tourism Scholarship.
Speaking during the award ceremony, which took place at the Pommarine Hotel recently, Shanise Taylor, Product Officer at the BTPA, revealed that the objective of the BTPA Culinary Tourism Scholarship, which is worth $2, 500 BDS, is to assist with the development of future culinary professionals who were currently enrolled full time at the BCC Hospitality Institute in the culinary arts programme.
Terry Vanterpool-Fox, Acting Chief Executive Officer at the BTPA expressed that she was indeed delighted to be there that morning.
“Today, the Barbados Tourism Product Authority, under its Culinary Arts Programme is proud to have the opportunity to provide two scholarships to two students of the Barbados Community College Hospitality Institute,” she said.
“Education is very important and so culinary education is essential today both from a practical and a certification perspective. Food tourism is the gateway to many careers including, but not limited to, chefs, executive chefs, restaurateurs, food and nutrition specialists, food technologists, fruit carvers, influencers, food network producers, bloggers and food writers.”
The Acting CEO went on to note that based on the number of applicants for the scholarship attested to the number of students who were interested in further developing their culinary arts career. By extension, this led her to believe that the culinary arts industry of Barbados was in sound hands.
She implored the applicants to remember that it was not just about the scholarship, which was launched April this year, rather it was about investing in their future as they looked to build a strong foundation for their careers.
“The onus is on you to be as creative as you possibly can because culinary tourism, based on the amount of festivals that are already out there will increase one way or the other and visitors look to truly experience the culture of an island through the foods,” she said. (CLF)