It’s not quite Master Chef Canada, but there will be dicing, slicing, boiling, baking, and some friendly competition among the youth enrolled in a new culinary skills training program.
The pilot project is an initiative of the Collingwood Youth Centre, Elephant Thoughts and Blue Mountain with funding from the Ontario government’s Skills Catalyst Fund.
The program will put youth participants through a series of classes with the aim of making sure they are employment ready by January 2019.
The classes began Oct. 9, with food handling and knife skills taught by Adam McMaster, the food safety coordinator at Blue Mountain Resort.
“The goal of the program is to enlighten students to the limitless opportunities in the culinary world, especially in the hospitality-focused area,” said McMaster, whose extensive resume includes a hospitality teaching position in Australia.
The curriculum for the program has been developed by Blue Mountain Resort Executive Chef Kartik Kumar, whose past experience includes teaching in the Chef Red Seal program and a stint as head coach for Team Canada in the Culinary Olympics.
Students enrolled in the program will continue training on October 20 at Blue Mountain Resort. They will learn skills such as safe food handling, kitchen hygiene, food-related allergy training, knife skills, developing Mise en Place (a French term referring to the set up before cooking) for high-capacity food service, recipe comprehension and development, short order cooking, life-station guest interactions, basic dessert preparations, and will participate in a black box competition at the end of the eight weeks.
A black box competition is famous in the chef world. Each competitor receives a black box containing the same ingredients and are required to make it into a dish.
The program will be delivered by Blue Mountain chefs including Chef Kartik Kumar, Chef Rod Meadus, Chef Scott Carter, and Chef Krystal Van Der Velden.
Blue Mountain will also provide chef coats for each student enrolled in the program.
The culinary skills program is part of the Youth Innovation and Work Integration Pilot, and is the result of a partnership between Blue Mountain, the Collingwood Youth Centre, and Elephant Thoughts Educational Outreach.
Elephant Thoughts worked with Blue Mountain to obtain a grant from the province’s Skill’s Catalyst Fund.
“There are youth in the community not presently working who would greatly benefit from opportunities to build skills and confidence for job fairs and interview processes,” said Abby Stec, director of business development for Elephant Thoughts Education Outreach. “Our
program will provide a fun and engaging way for them to gain the skills, certifications and self -esteem to be successful. It will act as a direct link to the employers and excellent job opportunities.”
According to a press release sent by Blue Mountain, the program will also provide a direct connection to prospective employers, including Blue Mountain, for those enrolled as a participant.
“The local culinary industry offers competitive compensation, comparable benefits and perks and provides fantastic opportunities for advancement. It is the industry in which the greatest number of jobs are available in the area,” said McMaster. “Culinary skills are fundamental for all hospitality workers … understanding the fundamentals of a well-run culinary program is essential to any executive or managerial position in this industry.”
According to the press release, the Youth Innovation and Work Integration Pilot program also includes carpentry, welding and adventure tourism training. The program will serve 216 youth participants from five communities in Grey and Simcoe Counties.
