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Nestlé Celebrates International Chef’s Day

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Over 90 students and their teachers from schools across Jamaica and Trinidad took part in a celebration of International Chef’s Day last week. The event, a collaborative initiative of Nestlé, its food services arm Nestlé Professional and the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (Worldchefs) is a big ticket event for the Nestlé for Healthier Kids Global Programme each year.

The theme for this year’s event was ‘Healthy Foods for Growing Up’. Our goal: To educate the kids about the importance of healthy eating, expose them to the culinary profession and teach them good eating habits they can carry with them for life.

  

In Jamaica this included increasing the primary level target group’s awareness of healthy eating in a farm-to-table experience. Under expert guidance of Entrepreneur and Champion Farmer Jade Lee and Chef Jacqui Tyson the students took a farm tour that exposed them to farming methods, diverse crop and agribusiness, specifically value added products. The participants were then whisked off to cooking workshops utilizing crops from the farm to engineer more nutritious and creative meal options and bring them to life. Jacqui Tyson, of From Thought to Finish wove an intricate web of how her career has evolved. Chronicling the route to her now award-winning career in culinary and event management services, Tyson also demonstrated how important the farmer is to living well. “Nestlé would not have a business were it not for the contribution of farmers, our livelihood depends on the commitment of farmers.”

 

Tyson also used the opportunity to inspire the participants to consider a career in culinary and sent them off with tips on how to create nutritious and fun recipe ideas to share with their parents and guardians. Similarly in Trinidad, children enjoyed fantastic games, teaching them the importance of portion control, food groups, hydration and more, and had the opportunity to cook special recipes with the help of chefs from the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality Institute (TTHTI).


“Children’s health matters to Nestlé— it is in our DNA since 1866,” says Nestlé’s Corporate Communications Manager, Denise d’Abadie, “This is how we started more than 150 years ago when our founder Henri Nestlé created an infant cereal that saved the life of a child, and it’s how we continue through Nestlé for Healthier Kids.”

“We know that nutrition in early childhood lays the foundation for a child’s lifelong health and well-being,” Mrs. d’Abadie adds: “and we also know that when individuals become parents, they change their purchasing and eating habits, striving to incorporate healthier foods and beverages into their lives. This means we have an opportunity to make change, and that’s what Nestlé for Healthier Kids is all about!”

 

Participating schools included:

Jamaica - Seaview Gardens Primary, John Mills Primary, Ensom City Primary, Ferris Primary, Freetown Primary, Alvernia Preparatory, St. Andrew Preparatory and Ardenne Preparatory.

Trinidad: Belmont Government Primary • Sacred Heart Girls RC • Curepe Presbyterian • St Joseph Girls RC • The University School Prep • Mafeking Government Primary • Macaulay Government Primary • Chaguanas Government Primary • Mayaro Government Primary • St. Agnes Anglican • Toco Anglican Primary School