Sizzle Baby! Kitchens at Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Opens

The Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH)’s Kitchen Training Unit at Vientiane’s Lao-Korea Vocational Training Centre opens.
By:  Luc Citrinot, TravelDailyNews.Asia, September 6 2012

LANITH (Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality)’s Kitchen Training Unit at Vientiane’s Lao-Korea Vocational Training Centre (LKVTC) is boiling over in action after its July 2012 opening, with instructors from the capital’s universities and technical schools immersed in an intense Passport to Success programme to give them hands-on experience they can transfer to their students. The fully equipped Lanith Kitchen Training Unit serves as Lanith’s Passport to Success’ main facility for its food preparation skills training programme in Vientiane Capital.

Passport to Success architect Mike Loose, Lanith’s Technical Advisor, Industry Training explained that the opening sessions are focussing on practical food preparation skills for tourism and hospitality lecturers from Dongdok University, Pakpasak Technical College, and LKVTC.

Starting in July 2012, some 10 participants partook in the first two-week Passport to Success package of three training modules on basic food preparation skills. Currently, they are undertaking a second three-module food preparation package.

Mr Loose said, “These compact summer teacher-training sessions give them the opportunity to improve their skills, which will make them more effective instructors. Our goal is for these teachers to achieve a bronze award by mid-2013, by successfully passing Passport to Success’s rigorous assessment process.”

Lanith contracted former Settha Palace Chef Ralf Haupts to conduct the Passport to Success modules tailored for Laos’ food preparation teachers. Mr Loose commented that Lanith’s core team, all of which are Lao nationals, usually conduct the modules in Lao language, but training the trainers required the expertise of a five-star chef.

LANITH Chief Technical Advisor Peter Semone engineered a public-private partnership (PPP) to fund the opening and sustainable operation of Lanith’s Kitchen Training Unit. “We were seeking harmonization among various sectors to establish Passport to Success’s signature kitchen training facility in the capital,” Mr Semone said.

LANITH contributed US$5,000 for renovating the classroom, Hong Kong Polytechnic University donated some US$50,000 in kitchen equipment – refrigerators and freezers, gas stoves, sinks, and storage units – and LKVTC provided the space.

LKVTC Director Khamphiang Keolangsy said he was extremely pleased to welcome Lanith’s Kitchen Training Unit to the campus. Mr Keolangsy and Lanith have begun preliminary discussions on constructing facilities at LKVTC to offer instruction in housekeeping, a trade in great demand in Laos, in the hospitality field as well as for all businesses and private home owners.

Source:  TravelDailyNews.Asia