Guide to Culinary Schools in the Caribbean

By Joe Mellett and Ward Allebach

After a harsh winter in the northern United States, it's easy to imagine why we started thinking about culinary schools in the Caribbean.

Maybe you can imagine it, too... Pursuing your dream career while wiggling your toes in the sand and snorkeling in crystal blue, tropical waters.

Of course, that's only when you're not studying or getting first-hand, real-world experience working in the kitchens of some of the finest first-class resorts and hotels in the midst of one the hottest tourist destinations in the world!

This article takes a look at the professional culinary and hospitality education opportunities that we found to be available at 20 schools on 13 tropical islands in the Caribbean, within just a few short hours on a plane flight from the often-chillier confines of the US.

CULINARY PROGRAMS IN THE CARIBBEAN

The following schools offer programs that specialize in culinary education:

New England Culinary Institute at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College
PO Box 3097, Road Town
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
(284) 494-4994
Fax: (284) 494-4996

www.necibvi.com

Established in 2001, New England Culinary Institute and HLSCC offer a two-year Associates of Science degree program in Culinary Arts in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Students spend six months on campus & six months on paid internships each year. Accredited by Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology.

Courses include Baking, Pastry, Prepared Foods, a la Carte, Catering, Meat Fabrication, Garde Manger, Cake Decorating, Culinary Management, Dining Room Service, Ethnic Cuisines, Facilities, Food Safety, Food Styling, Food/Beverage Management, Hospitality, Menu Planning, Nutrition, Restaurant Management and Sanitation. Students will spend six months per year completing internships/expternships.

A maximum of 21 new students are added in August & February; high school or college transcript, letter of reference, essay, and application are required. The total program enrollment is 60, and 40 percent of the students are eligible for financial aid. Student housing available, and the Student:Teacher ratio is an average of 7:1.

The school facilities include operating kitchens at Prospect Reef Resort, the Road Town Bakery, Callaloo (a fine dining restaurant), Scuttlebutt Caf� & Bar, the cafeteria at HLSCC, and Calamaya, a fine dining restaurant in a marina setting. Tuition is $14,200 per year for U.S. citizens, $11,360 per year for Caribbean residents, and $9,940 per year for BVI residents.

The Short List

CULINARY, HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM PROGRAMS

The following schools offer programs that offer culinary degrees and certificates, while also offering degrees and/or certificates in hospitality and/or tourism:

Barbados Community College, Hospitality Institute (Hotel PomMarine)
Eyrie Howells' Road
St. Michael, Barbados
246-426-2858 Ext 232
Fax: 246-429-5935
www.bcc.edu.bb/hospitalitY.HTML
eyrie@bcc.edu.bb

With campuses in St. Michel and Christ Church, BCC offers a Bachelors of Science in Hospitality Tourism Management, and Associates of Science degrees in Culinary Arts, Hotel Catering and Institutional Operations, and Tourism and Travel. The curriculum and learning environment of the Hospitality Institute are designed to address some of the Human Resource Development needs of the industry. The Institute's modularized curriculum enables students to progress through the basic certificate level to degree level through partnership with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Courses include Food Preparation, Cake and Pastry Making, Food and Beverage Management, Hospitality Management, Food Art, Sanitation and Safety, Personnel and Facilities Management, and Tourism.

Bermuda College, Faculty of Hotel & Business Administration
P.O. Box PG 297
Paget, PG BX, Bermuda
(441) 239-4043
FAX: (441) 239-4042
www.bercol.bm/
info@bercol.bm

The hospitality and culinary-oriented programs at Bermuda College are within the Faculty of Hotel & Business Administration and designed with the assistance of employers in the Hospitality Industry. The college offers Certificates in Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Service, as well as an Associates degree in Hospitality Management. The programs may take from one semester to two years to complete and may include internship components at local or overseas hospitality and culinary organizations. Tuition for full-time residents of Bermuda is $2,400 per year.

Contact: Duranda Greene, Dean, dGreene@bercol.bm or Barbara O'Shaughnessy-Hind, Associate Dean, bos@bercol.bm

Colegio EPI, Aruba Hotel School
L.G. Smith Blvd. 35, P.O. Box 5019
Oranjestad Aruba, DWI
(297) 8-38600
Fax: (297) 8-35157
www.aruba4you.com/aruba_hotel_school.htm
ahs@setarnet.aw

Colegio EPI offers a three-year Immediate Employment (I.E.) AAS degree in Culinary Arts and continuing education program, located in Oranjestad, Aruba, at a public school with 4 academic sectors, which includes the Aruba Hotel School. Accredited by the Government of Aruba and established in 1997, courses offered include Culinary arts and personal development.

The school admits 35 new students each August, with a total enrollment of 75. All applicants are accepted and employed; fluency in English, high school diploma or equivalent required. Six-month on-the-job internships in a 5-star resort hotel or fine restaurant are required.

Modern facilities were built in 1983, and the school currently has a 10:1 Student:Teacher Ratio, including 11 full-time, 4 part-time faculty, all of whom are formally educated with at least a bachelor's degree. Tuition is $4,000/year, including uniforms, textbooks, cooking utensils, local excursions.

Contact: Tony A.D. Green, Director

College of the Bahamas, School of Hospitality Tourism Studies
(formerly the Bahamas Hotel Training College)
PO Box N-4912
Nassau, Bahamas
www.cob.edu.bs/schools/hosp_and_touris_home.html
prescob@cob.edu.bs

The COB School of Hospitality Tourism Studies (formerly the Bahamas Hotel Training College) offers Applied Associates of Arts Degree and short courses in Hospitality Operations and Culinary Arts; two-year Diploma programmes and one-year Certificates in General Catering Skills, Housekeeping Skills and Book-keeping; and a Bachelors in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Offers a three-year apprenticeship program at eight resort, restaurant and hotel locations, including Bahamas Princess Country Club, Lucaya Beach Hotel, and Princess Casino in Freeport, Bahamas. Tuition is $100-$150/credit for Bahamians, and $300-$350/credit for non-Bahamians.

Trinidad & Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute
Airway Road & Hill Top Lane
PO Box 41
Carenage, Trinidad
(868) 634-2144
FAX: (868) 634-4832
www.hospitalitytt.com/
webmaster@hospitalitytt.com

The Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute offers programs in Hospitality Management, Front Office & Travel Agency Operations, and Hospitality Skills, including education and training at the Associate Degree level, the Certificate level and the vocational level. Programmes include: Hospitality Management (Culinary Management, Food and Beverage Management, and Hotel Operations); Tourism Management; Food and Beverage Supervision; Front Office and Travel Agency Operations; Cooks training; and Baking and Pastry Arts training. TTHTI also offers Catering, Job Placement and Consultancy.

HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM PROGRAMS

The following schools offer hospitality and tourism programs, but do not emphasize culinary education in their curriculum:

International College of the Cayman Islands
P.O. Box 136 Savannah
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
345-947-1100
Fax: 345-947-1210
cayman.com.ky/pub/icci/
icci@candw.ky

Established in 1970, the International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) operates as a non-profit, privately-controlled, American-style college at Newlands, Grand Cayman. The college offers an Associate of Science is in Business with a concentration in Hotel and Tourism Management at a campus where the international student body is made up of about 200 men and women, including students from other Caribbean islands and from every continent in the world. ICCI allows students to enroll four times during the year and is accredited as a senior college by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, Washington, D.C.

Knox Community College
Spalding Post Office, Box 52
Clarendon, Jamaica
(876) 987-8056
FAX: (876) 987-8048
www.kcc.edu.jm
info@kcc.edu.jm

With four campuses in Jamaica (at Spalding, Cobbla, Mandeville and May Pen), KCC offers a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality and Tourism Management and a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology. Courses include Hospitality and Tourism, Sanitation and Nutrition, Culinary Arts, Baking Statistics and Food and Beverage Management.

Northern Caribbean University, Department of Nutrition, Tourism and Hospitality Management
Manchester, Jamaica
(876) 961-1689
FAX: (876) 962-0075
www.ncu.edu.jm/
admissions@ncu.edu.jm

NCU offers programs in Nutrition, Tourism and Hospitality Management, including an Associates degree in Hospitality Management.

Sir Arthur Lewis Community College
Mourne Fortune
Castries, St. Lucia
(758) 452-5507 FAX: (758) 452-7901
www.salcc.edu.lc/depts/hospitality/tourism_hospitality_studies.htm
info@salcc.edu.lc

Sir Arthur Lewis Community College offers an Associates degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management with optional emphases in Food and Beverage Management, Accommodation Operations Management, and Travel and Tourism. The aim of this program is to prepare students for careers at hotels, restaurants, other catering establishments, or the tourism and travel industry.

T.A. Merryshow Community College
St. George's, Grenada
(473) 440-8009
FAX: (473) 440-3079
tamcc@caribsurs.com

Offers Hotel & Catering and Food & Beverage programs.

Turks and Caicos Islands Community College
Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos
(649) 946-1163
FAX: (649) 946-1661
www.turksandcaicos.tc/Academic/tcicommunitycollege.htm
tcicomc@tciway.tc

TCICC offers a two-year diploma in Hospitality Studies.

Universidad APEC, UNAPEC
Av. M�ximo G�mez #72
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
(809) 686-0021
FAX: (809) 685-5581
www.unapec.edu.do/
unapec@unapec.edu.do

Offers a Hotel and Tourism Management program.

Universidad del Caribe
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
(809) 534-5090
FAX: (809) 534-7692
universidaddelcaribe.edu.do/
univ.delcaribe@codetel.net.do

Offers Hotel Administration and Restaurant & Bar programs.

Universidad Central del Este (UCE)
San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
(809) 529-3562
FAX: (809) 529-5146
www.uce.edu.do/frame.asp?doc=/bienvenidos/Default.asp
info@uce.edu.do

Offers a Hotel Management program.

Universidad Interamericana (UNICA)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
(809) 685-6562
FAX: (809) 689-8581
www.campus-oei.org/guiauniv/dom003.htm
unica@codetel.net.do

Offers a Tourism Management program.

Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ure�a
Ave. John F. Kennedy Km 5�
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
(809) 567-7731
FAX: (809) 566-2206
www.unphu.edu.do/unphu/facultades/economicas/
funud@unphu.edu.do

Offers a Hotel Management program.

University of Technology, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management
237 Old Hope Road
Kingston, Jamaica
(876) 927-1680
FAX: (876) 927-1615
www.utech.edu.jm/Faculty2/Business/tour_home.htm

The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at the University of Technology offers Bachelor's of Science degrees in Hospitality & Tourism Management (offered jointly with the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus) and Food Service Management, and Certificates in Baking Technology, General Catering, Pastry Making, Food Service Organization & Supervision, and Events Planning & Management. Courses include Purchasing and Menu Planning, Mixology, Sprits and Wine, Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism Trends, International Cuisine, Garde Manger, and Advanced Culinary Arts.

Contact: Dr. Flora Gailliardm, Head, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, fgailli@utech.edu.jm

University of the West Indies, Centre for Hotel & Tourism Management
P.O. Box N-4863
Nassau, NP, Bahamas
(242) 323-5714 or (242) 356-0659
Fax: (242) 325-3246
www.chtm.uwi.edu/
christossalvaris@hotmail.com

UWI's Hotel and Tourism Management program offers Bachelors degrees over a three-year period with the student completing the first year at any of the three campuses located in Barbados, Jamaica, or Trinidad and Tobago. On successful completion, students complete the second and third years of the program at the Centre for Hotel & Tourism Management.

Courses include Caribbean Travel and Tourism, Principles and Practices of Hospitality Marketing, Hospitality Management Accounting, Tourism Management, Menu Planning and Food and Beverage Cost Control, Bar and Beverage Management and Control, and Hotel and Food Facilities Planning and Design.

The program operates on a semester basis, with courses being offered in the Fall semester (August to December) and the Spring semester (March to June) with a twelve-week internship from mid-December to mid-March. Tuition for Jamaican students and students from Contributing Countries is $1,613.00 per year; for students from non-Contributing Countries, tuition is $9,490.00 per year.