GTA hosting junior cooking competition as part of Tourism Awareness Month

Children from across several regions are competing in the Guyana Tourism Authority’s Junior Tourism Cooking Showcase during Tourism Awareness Month.

The competition started November 4 at Aruwai in Region Seven, while the second leg of the exercise was completed on November 11 at Lake Capoey along the Essequibo Coast.

Chief Judge, Chef Kester Robinson noted that the competition was executed in an impressive manner.

“These students are doing great stuff. They are putting a lot of the older heads to shame with their presentation, their methods, and their creativity. That is what this is about, it’s about helping the students and guiding them. My job here is to share my many years of experience; passing that down to the younger folk,” Robinson stated.

He noted that Guyana has a growing tourism sector with both the government and the private sector investing in the industry and chefs will play a vital role.

Chef Robinson emphasised that it is good to inspire children at a young age to create a new culture of food in Guyana.

“What is tourism without food and what is tourism without great chefs, not just cooks, we need chefs. We need persons who are creative, we need persons who will go the extra mile and ensure that what they are putting on that plate is not just food…We want to see techniques; we want to be able to see creativity in how they use what we have here and represent their village or whichever region they are from,” Robinson said.

The preliminary rounds will continue on November 18 in Region 10, November 25 in Georgetown, Region Four, and the finale is set for December 3 at a venue that is still to be announced.