Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 05, 2018 (SKNIS): Officials from the Department of Youth Empowerment expressed heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the growing list of sponsors that came onboard to support the department’s 11th Annual High School Chefs’ competition – a popular event celebrated as part of Youth Month.
The 2018 High School Chefs’ competition included partners such as TDC and its subsidiary Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI), as well as the St. Kitts Scenic Railway; Canejuice; S L Horsfords & Company Ltd; VIP Connected; SOL EC Ltd; Dolphin Discovery, and the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry of Tourism partnered with the Department of Youth Empowerment to sponsor the competition for the very first time in the history of the event.
In an interview with the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) on Monday, December 03, 2018, Diane Dunrod-Francis, Senior Youth Officer in the Department of Youth Empowerment, said that all the contributions were appreciated as they helped to motivate the students.
Mrs. Francis made special mention of the Ministry of Tourism, which took the responsibility to source the sponsors.
“We want to thank them very much. I must say that they really came through with the prizes this year because over the years we have been struggling. I trust and hope that in the future they will be able to continue,” she said.
She added that it is important for the Department of Youth Empowerment to develop partnerships in order to expand the reach of its programming and further engage youth in meaningful ways.
The following gifts were donated by the partners to the student chefs at the recently concluded High School Chefs’ Competition: pot sets; blenders; knife sets; stove; bags; a food processor; zipline passes; Scenic Railway passes; dinner vouchers; a hotel stay, and chef coats. Teachers of the winning school – Verchilds High – were presented with two Cooler Fête tickets, while SOL donated two 20lb – gas tanks for the participants to use during the competition.