First gastronomy academy to be established at Montego Bay Convention Centre

Jamaica’s first ever gastronomy academy is to be established at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, provided details as he opened the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“We are going to be training sous chefs there because we have the best kitchen in the Caribbean right there at the convention centre. It seems almost a waste if you just save it for big meetings and conventions when you can use it to upskill and upgrade your people to be able to have mobility and portability,” Bartlett said.

The Minister also informed that his Ministry will be working with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to build out a tourism entertainment academy.

“This is very important because every industry has its peculiarities, and so your discipline may be broad and it covers everything, but my discipline is narrow, and it only covers some things. For you to be relevant and to be appropriate in your application, you must be trained and developed to manage the process that I have and be able to deliver on what I require,” Bartlett said.

“We believe that there are qualified, top-notch producers in Jamaica, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can utilise those whom we have, and we end up on a virtual arrangement with practical application in a centre that is created appropriately,” he added.

The Minister further noted: “We have had the designs done and we will have our entertainment academy ready in short order.”

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