Culinary Training Programs for U.S. Beef and Pork Continue at Caribbean Event

USMEF led a team of 16 culinary school instructors and training "ambassadors" from the Caribbean region to Miami last month to participate in training sessions and attend the Taste of the Caribbean and the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF). Taste of the Caribbean, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's (CHTA) annual culinary showcase of top young chefs, provides a forum for food and beverage professionals to gather practical information, develop skills, sample and purchase products, and strengthen supplier relationships while meeting new vendors.

"The Taste of the Caribbean includes strong training and educational components so we coordinated our culinary training program with the industry events in Miami," said Elizabeth Wunderlich, USMEF's Caribbean representative. "We implemented a 'train the trainer' educational program with a launch manual and educators' online portal alongside the CHTA and CHIEF events for our culinary school instructors. The seminars were based on the Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine textbook that we published earlier this year."

Developed with industry support and in collaboration with local food scholars and regional chefs, Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine was created by USMEF for regional culinary schools and foodservice professionals. The textbook focuses on the food history and culinary traditions of islands throughout the Caribbean. In Miami, well-known chefs from the Caribbean conducted the training sessions.

"While honoring island traditions and regional dishes, the textbook also promotes the usage of U.S. beef, pork and variety meats in these traditional Caribbean dishes. It is becoming a go-to resource for educators, chefs and foodservice professionals in the region," Wunderlich adds.

Funding was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program, the National Pork Board and USDA's Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.

Regional chefs used USMEF's textbook, Contemporary Caribbean Cuisine, as the basis for training sessions with the culinary school instructors and training "ambassadors" from the Caribbean region.