The team from 54 on Bath – Ruan Nieuwoudt and Gerard Vingerling. In the background is Trevor Boyd from InterContinental OR Tambo
With a robust history of in-house training and development in the food & beverage sector, Tsogo Sun last year embarked on a series of training programmes for chefs and F&B Managers through its Tsogo Sun Academy to ensure that they uphold and improve on the group’s world-class standards in delivering excellence in its extensive food & beverage offering.
Kevin Page, Group Development & Food & Beverage (F&B) Director for Tsogo Sun, says the group’s vision is to bring food & beverage to the forefront of its gaming, hotel and entertainment delivery. “Our food and beverage must be memorable, which means that it needs to conform with all the aspects of food that we expect today, from being delicious and wholesome, to the quality of the ingredients and how ethically we source them, and through to honest, good delivery.”
The ground-breaking new course called ‘Innovating F&B’ was run in Cape Town for Tsogo Sun employees and was designed for executive chefs and their colleagues in the front-of-house, the F&B managers. “The idea is for executive chefs and their F&B managers to develop new thinking to meet the demands and challenges they each face, gain insight into how they can work together effectively, build stronger relationships, and be innovative together,” explains Karen Borain, Training and Development Manager for the Tsogo Sun Academy.
The programme lasts five days and includes lectures by experts in different fields, experiential training, field visits to restaurants, demonstrations, and more. Between 10 and 15 teams consisting of executive chefs and F&B managers undertook the training in five-day blocks. Plans are in place to roll out further programmes this year.
“Many of the new training initiatives we’re embarking on are aimed at recognising people through the Tsogo Sun Academy. One of our core philosophies is the training and development of people. I believe in the principle of employing people who want to work for us and all we need to do is align them in the correct direction and use their skills in the right places,” says Borain.
