First of its kind event will empower young people and break down barriers to disability
Monday 4th October 2021: A new all Ireland cookery competition which aims to enhance young people’s culinary skills while using a ‘buddy system’ to bring down barriers associated with disabilities has been launched by Rotary Ireland and the Culinary Ability Awards (CAA).
The Rotary Ireland Culinary Ability Chefs event is open to young people aged 14 to 17 who have a passion and respect for food as well as a willingness to learn and share.
One of the key elements of the competition, which was launched at the Killashee hotel in Kildare, is that able young people will be paired with and support a disabled partner in a dual format competition.
Andrew Cremin from Rotary Ireland said the emphasis of the competition will be on empowerment, inclusion, and personal development.
“We want budding young chefs, abled and disabled from all over the island, north and south, to come together in a safe and fun-loving environment to learn and compete against each other under the guidance of fully qualified chefs. The buddy or pairing system will be key and we’ll be putting a lot of thought into that”
“We are delighted to partner with CAA for this event which clearly supports the values of both our organisations. We are looking forward to hundreds of young people entering this competition and we would urge parents, teachers and youth workers all over the island to encourage them to do so.”
Chef Chris Sandford, who established the Culinary Ability Awards in Dublin in 2005, said the new competition was the first of its kind in the world and everyone in the CAA was hugely excited by it.
“This is all about creating a platform for young people with an interest in cooking to showcase their talent and express their passion. It’s about nurturing their confidence, imbuing them with lifelong skills and creating opportunities for the future.”
“Of course, we also want to challenge perceptions and to highlight the amazing talent that’s out there to potential employers. By helping individuals with disabilities to fulfil their potential not only are companies gaining wonderful employees, they are also fulfilling their own social responsibility to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace. It’s a win win for all concerned.”
How it works?
There are two competitions running side by side, at the same time. It will begin with Rotary Ireland Culinary Ability Chefs training budding chefs, abled and disabled all over the island.
Initially, the abled competitors and disabled competitors will train separately for their own respective competition.
At a later stage they will be brought together with a mentoring chef and the abled competitor will become a support or ‘buddy’ to the disabled competitor, assisting the latter as they prepare for their contest.
The competition will take place at local, regional and national level with prizes varying from vouchers to cookery equipment to a real-life working experience in a top kitchen.
Young people can enter via their schools, by contacting their local Rotary club or by going on the Rotary Ireland website www.rotary.ie where they will find all the information they need.
If you or your company would like to support the Rotary Ireland Culinary Ability Chefs please contact Admin@culinaryabilityawards.com
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