New bar helps tech institute train hospitality students
In academic jargon it is referred to as the art and science of mixology. We call it bartending…and as anyone who’s ever spent a full night serving drinks can tell you, it’s a demanding job that requires a full measure of physical and mental skills. Today one institution with mixology in its curriculum received a potent new addition. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
With the cutting of the ribbon, the ITVET training bar was officially open for learning.
Beverly Brown, Food Prep Instructor, ITVET
“It is said that good wine and good food go together so when the students know how to serve wine properly and other alcoholic beverages and also know the kinds to go with the various foods, it surely will enhance our culinary skills in Belize.”
According to lecturer Beverley Brown, the bar will allow students who enrol in the hospitality programme to acquire practical skills before putting them to use in to the real world.
Beverly Brown
“ While we did as much as we could with what we had, it wasn’t very much, but at least they had an idea, after leaving here, how some wines go with certain foods but they didn’t have the actual experience except for when the go out to functions and they had to serve the wines or alcoholic beverages, but that was limited so they actually learnt on the job and it will be better now that we have it here so they learn on the premises before they go out so they could have some experience going out.”
The initiative was a collaborative effort between the Belize Tourism Board—which donated around six thousand dollars for materials—and ITVET, who provided the manpower and skills.
Sheldon Samuels, Manager, ITVET, Belize City
“It’s a combination of the various different programmes in ITVET Belize district, the carpentry, the electrical and of course the plumbing department who put the training bar together. So really they provided the funds and our institution did the building.”
Tracy Panton, Director, B.T.B.
“We are very pleased by the outcome obviously. We think that this project will help to strengthen the skills base training for bartenders at ITVET to make the training more relevant to the real world scenario and hopefully help the students to unleash, so to speak, their creative talents.”
Merilyn Young, Chair, ITVET Board of Governors
“Here’s to ITVET and the staff and the students for a very successful programme in the year 2006-2007 and to make sure the tourism industry be prosperous for the next hundred years, right Tracy?”
Tracy Panton
“At least.” (applause)
To get the students mixing, Traveller’s Liquors stocked the bar with twenty-eight varieties of locally produced liquor.
Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
