Sandals Resorts in the Montego Bay region are breathing new life into their propitious ‘Tourism in Schools’ programme with the introduction of ‘Project School’ to bolster the Culinary Arts Department at the Spot Valley High School in St James.  

Sandals and the institution are reviving a 2005 relationship, and are focusing on future collaborations. Training sessions, mentorship, hotel exposure, and critical tools will be provided to strengthen the school’s commercial food preparation programme in training future culinary and hospitality professionals.

Spot Valley High School’s commercial food prep trainer/facilitator, Taralee Edmond, was thankful for Sandals’ support.

“Spot Valley High School caters to approximately 1,000 students from diverse backgrounds and we are committed to providing all students with the best possible education and training. The support from Sandals will help to improve the culinary arts department and the institution’s overall facilities and for that, we are truly grateful,” she said.

“While some of the students placed at Spot Valley High may have learning and behavioural challenges, we’ve found that they excel at vocational or skill areas. The school wants to enhance these areas to better serve our student population making them more marketable to take their place as productive citizens in our society,” she added, noting that the assistance from Sandals will aid her students in preparing for the Commercial Food Preparation (NCTVET) and Food Preparation (City and Guilds) exams.

Edmund aims to empower students in food preparation through the programme with Sandal’s donations, diverting them from risky lifestyles. Many graduates have found jobs in the tourism industry.

Regional public relations manager for Sandals Resorts in the Montego Bay region, Rochelle Forbes-Reid, said that providing the tools and building the capacity of the Culinary Arts Department at Spot Valley High is key to ensuring students have a solid framework to practice and perfect their craft.

“We are pleased with the launch of this programme and that in some way, we’ll be able to help bolster the infrastructure here. We look forward to continuing our partnership to support the institution’s students and staff,” Forbes-Reid said. 

Spot Valley High School students participated in the Sandals Tourism in Schools Project School, learning culinary skills, garnish preparation, and receiving certificates, gifts, and handouts for further learning.

Commercial food prep student, Rashawn Williams, was particularly impressed with what he considered to be the high level of service extended by the Sandals team.

“This session provided a lot of information and I believe more engagements like this will better prepare me for the future when it’s time to seek employment,” he said

“I greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet representatives from Sandals, which is a respected stakeholder in the hospitality industry. The chefs were very patient and kind. We hope that this will continue as it is useful for our development,” grade-11 student Sachin Marks remarked.

Additionally, the Sandals team handed over two brand-new Whirlpool gas stoves to the commercial food prep department. 

Both entities expect that this partnership will have a significant impact on the quality of hospitality education and training offered by the school while creating a pool of budding young culinarians from which the hospitality industry can also benefit.