Délice Network, in partnership with five vocational cooking institutes from Barcelona (Spain), Bordeaux (France), Gaziantep (Turkey), Malmö (Sweden), and Torino (Italy), is proud to present the international project “The Future In Our Kitchens: Social & Sustainable skills for Culinary Trainees,” co-financed by the European Union under the Erasmus+ program.
Future Kitchens aims to open the mindset of future cooks and food entrepreneurs through an international cooperation partnership between vocational culinary training institutes for the school year 2022-2023.
During a year-long collaboration, the partnership will actively cooperate in designing a joint training program (online) and an immersive training week (in person) to foster social and sustainable skills in their culinary practices.
While the restaurant industry has rebound after months of shutdown due to the pandemic, the sector is now suffering from the adverse effects of the labor shortage and difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled workers. Paradoxically, youth is facing unprecedented challenges in entering professional lives. The restaurant industry is today not an attractive option for their career choice.
To deal with this significant paradox, the food service industry needs to become more attractive to young people, the pioneers of future changes, and the workers of tomorrow. Thus, cooking vocational education is a primary actor of this paradigm change and must offer engaging training programs that address the critical issues of fair and sustainable development, which are some main drivers of the life choices of today's young people.
A one-year collaboration from the 1st of September 2022 to the 1st of October 2023.
Future Kitchens will foster cooperation between vocational institutes to offer engaging training programs that will address the critical issues of equitable and sustainable development through:
- Designing innovative training methods and formats and developing a digital culinary training program to transfer knowledge and good practices from global food experts to trainees.
- Addressing the key challenges significant for the youth today, including social consideration in the food service industry and sustainable practices in restaurant industry kitchens.
The Brigade gathers teachers and referent experts from the six partners of Future Kitchens for online meetings, scheduled at least once a month. This activity aims to create a community of practice between culinary vocational institutes from all over Europe and the exchange of good practices through peer learning. The Brigade will be the core of Future Kitchens, responsible for project coordination and culinary program co-construction.
Whip Up Skills is a culinary training program accessible to all online for free. This activity will consist of thematic cooking masterclasses sessions on social & sustainable practices in professional kitchens. At least six online videos will be published from January to June 2023 to present innovative training methods and sustainable cooking skills. This program will transfer knowledge and good practices from global cooking trainers, food experts, and entrepreneurs to students.
>> Stay tuned for Online Cooking Training videos!
Bake Talents is the intensive week of training during which selected trainees will meet in Barcelona, where they can attend culinary classes and do on-the-job training. This activity aims at giving participants professional skills to be committed players for more sustainability & social engagement in the culinary workplace. The location of this event, ESHOB in Barcelona, was chosen for its proven expertise in addressing these topics.
This program consists of a partnership between Délice network and five vocational culinary institutes located in Délice's city members: Barcelona, Bordeaux, Gaziantep, Malmö, and Torino.
ESHOB, Escuela Superior de Hostelería de Barcelona, is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 by the Restaurant and Hotel Associations in Barcelona. As one of Spain's most representative Culinary Arts, Restaurant Service, Sommelier, Restaurant Management, and Hotel Management School, ESHOB aims to train future hospitality and food and beverage service professionals in theoretical knowledge, techniques, habits, and attitudes. Over four decades, Eshob has been improving the content and innovating the pedagogy of its culinary VET training to train future chefs, cooks, and restaurant pastry chefs.
Campus du Lac is a vocational training center of the chamber of commerce and industry of Bordeaux Gironde in the south of France. The restoration sector prepares for professions in the kitchen, room service, restaurant management, and hotel management. With 3200 people in training each year, the school will be able to contribute its teaching expertise and promote the sustainable integration of learners at the end of its course.
Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, located in the Southeastern Anatolian region, has been awarded prestigious prizes due to its efforts for social inclusion, the right to education for all, and measures for promoting renewable energies. The city comes into prominence with its cuisine, registered in 2015 as 1 of the eight world cuisines on UNESCO's Creative Cities list. The Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Art & Vocational Training Centre Courses, GASMEK, provides training programs through the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Art & Vocational Training Centre Courses, GASMEK, to invest in education. GASMEK offers vocational training in various fields to everyone, including Bakery Apprenticeship, Food Beverage Services, Gaziantep Cuisine, and Cook's Apprenticeship. In 2017, GASMEK became one of Turkey's top ten free cooking courses.
Malmö Restaurangskola was founded in the late 1800s. Its founding principles rest on honing the knowledge and skills of students in every aspect of the hospitality industry. Their role will be to implement their ability to integrate culinary learning while incorporating sustainable development. Indeed, Malmö Restaurangskola has developed local projects regarding social sustainability and how to reduce food waste to enlighten students about these issues so that the students themselves can carry on the work.
The Colombatto State Professional Institute for Food, Wine, and Hospitality Services is one of the oldest in Torino, Italy. The establishment dates back to the beginning of the 1900s, but the institute was officially created in 1962. Since 1987, it has been in its current location in the City of Torino, which looks like a hotel with six kitchens, three restaurant rooms, and three educational bars. The Colombatto Institute is specialized in vocational training in Food, Wine, and Hospitality Services.
For further information, please contact Mrs. Camille Chaumeron-Jourdan, Délice Program Developer: ccj@delice-network.com.
This project has received funding from the European Union under grant agreement no 2022-1-FR01-KA210-VET-000084565. This article does not reflect the opinion of the European Commission. The European Commission is also not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
