B.V.I. Monday, August 31 – The Premier’s Office is for the second consecutive year supporting the Adult Enrichment Hospitality Host and Hostess Seminar organised by the National Council of the Girls’ Brigade.
The event scheduled for September 7 to 18 will be followed by an awards ceremony for participants on Sunday, September 20, which will be held under the patronage of Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE.
Training Manager for the National Council of the Girls’ Brigade Mrs Janice Nibbs-Blyden told the Department of Information and Public Relations, the council is extremely gratified to again have the support of the Premier’s Office.
The seminar will expose participants to a number of skills including table-setting, appropriate food choice for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, cocktail and tea parties and preparation of desserts, among other things.
Conveying his delight to once again collaborate with the National Council of the Girls’ Brigade for this event, Honourable O’Neal said “with our main economic sectors being service oriented, it is important that people learn how to offer good service and to be the perfect hosts and hostesses.”
He also expressed the hope that participants in the seminar will be so intrigued by the subject that they will want to pursue courses at the Culinary Arts Centre which is to be constructed at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
The adult enrichment seminar is an offshoot of the junior competition, which is the Table Setting and Service Contest, organised by the Girls’ Brigade. “From the time we started that competition 11 years ago, adults have been asking what about us,” Mrs. Blyden said.
She said “last year, we created a competition but participants preferred to have something more enriching. They liked the information provided, teaching them to be perfect hosts and hostesses but they did not want to compete; they just wanted the knowledge and so the Adult Enrichment Hospitality Host and Hostess Seminar was started.”
The Training Manager is encouraging persons to register and participate in the seminar, which will be held from six to seven each evening at Maria’s By the Sea Restaurant. “When you come you will find other adults who you will sit with in an environment conducive to learning something new and it is also a life enriching experience,” she said.
“It is an exciting and enriching opportunity for persons who love to entertain,” Mrs. Blyden stated. “If you want to invite someone to your home, this will teach you recipes you can prepare to enlighten the palette,” she added.
Sessions will deal with different aspects of food preparation for various types of events and participants will also learn about the different types of wines and how to serve them.
Participants must be 18 years or older. A fee of $100 is charged to help defray the costs of hosting the seminar.
British Virgin Islands News