Male student tops in ECGC Home Economics

A variety of foods to tantalize one’s taste buds were on display at the Kingstown Methodist Church Hall as the Eastern Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC) hosted their fourteenth annual Home Economics awards ceremony last Wednesday, 19th March.{{more}}

While delivering the welcoming remarks, Abner Richards of the Ministry of Education said the aim of the programme is to increase the students’ ability in Home Economics, to promote the discipline of Home Economics and highlight possible career paths.

Ingrid Robinson, Education Officer responsible for Home Economics stated that the programme seeks to develop the culinary skills of students. These would form a major part of the tourism and food service industry, which would provide a platform for innovation and development, she said.

The two-month long competition saw 15 schools in a culinary battle. Robinson noted that despite the slight drop in the entries for the competition, the participation is “encouraging and the standards are very high”.

She commended ECGC for partnering with the Ministry of Education in its new thrust in the Education Revolution.

Marketing Officer at ECGC, Glender Francois said that her company is proud to be associated with the programme and emphasized the fact that her ECGC is “constantly interested in education and training”.

She emphasised that the competition is striving to “create and nurture” that sense of pride and accomplishment among students. She added she believed these students would take their place in the “hotels and service sector in the wider Caribbean and around the world”.

“I’m impressed with the level of enthusiasm and creativity displayed by students and teachers alike”. Francios noted that that ECGC would be launching a cookbook in near future and the students’ recipes would be included.

Curlon Ashton, a 4th form student of the Intermediate High school, walked away with $800 and a number of prizes for being the best overall student. He placed 1st in the appetizer category and 2nd in the dessert.

The elated Campden Park resident said that he was not expecting to win. He claims that he made a number of mistakes while preparing his dishes. The youngster hopes to become a chef. “That is my dream,” he said.

His teacher Jeanelle Lewis said that she is proud of him and that he gave up a lot of things for the project. “Curlon boycotted Inter-school sports to work on his project,” she said. Ashton is being given the opportunity to further develop his culinary skills at a local food service institution to prepare him for entry in the Caribbean Junior Chef challenge. (VM)