in the high schools several years ago was not continued.

The programme introduced students to the hospitality industry and many went on to the then-Hotel College in Prospect. Some remain in the industry to this day, but by and large a number of would-be hotel employees were never recruited in the first place.

"They should have continued with the programme rather than phasing it out,'' believes Mr. Ming who has now retired from teaching at the Bermuda College.

Ironically it was at the old Hotel College where he got his first culinary training.

"It could have still produced good dividends for the hospitality industry.

The Stonington Beach Hotel was built for training and it is not training but is more of a commercial establishment.

"The biggest mistake was to combine the hospitality department with the business department. They each have their own merits and since the change was made the hospitality department has declined.'' Over the years Mr. Ming has seen the standards in the tourism industry decline while the prices remain high. He feels Bermuda is pricing itself out of the tourism market.

"I look at the American newspapers and see Stonington advertising for $260 while some other properties are far cheaper and with much more to offer,'' said Mr. Ming.

"Bermuda Government needs to decide what category Stonington is in and what role it's going to play in the future of the Island. A large percentage of hotels around the world are offering all-inclusive and are very successful.

There are a few hotels in Bermuda that offer this kind of package and are very successful.

"The hospitality division should adopt to other culinary institutes and have a head of department with culinary skills that would work in conjunction with the Stonington Beach Hotel and the local hospitality industry. The Stonington campus is a good campus but it needs to be utilised more.'' Added Mr. Ming: "It's expensive to get here and expensive while you are here.

When you think of terms of people going on vacation there are a lot of Americans taking the opportunity to see what their own country is about.

"The two key things to attracting people here are cleaniness and politeness.

But Bermuda is not half as clean as it used to be and attitudes have changed tremendously.'' Even though Ming is stepping down as a Senior Lecturer at the Bermuda College, he will maintain a keen interest in the cooking profession, ensuring that more Bermudian chefs secure jobs and continue to assume top positions.

Reclaiming Bermuda's culinary tradition Ming's son Shawn is following him in the hospitality industry as a Chef Instructor at the Bermuda College.

"I may retire here like my father did,'' said the 32-year-old.

But the younger Ming almost did not follow his father into the industry. His early interest was in Biology and becoming a Biology teacher. He recalls "coming home from school with my brother (Robert) and helping to make cakes, sandwiches and hot hors d'oeuvres (for his dad's catering business) while my friends were outside playing''.

After graduating from Bermuda College with a diploma in Arts and Sciences, Shawn went to Acadia University in Nova Scotia where he graduated with a degree in Biology. But every summer while in college he would work at the BAS kitchen and eventually the cooking bug bit him.

From there he went to the Culinary Institute of Art in Hyde Park, New York to obtain a degree in Culinary Arts and the rest, as they say, is history.

"After graduating from there I worked at Southampton Princess for two years in the main kitchen,'' Shawn noted. "Now I'm at the Bermuda College as a Chef Instructor.'' His father is interested is seeing his son and other Bermudians reach the same levels of qualifications that he has. In all there are six levels of certification that a chef can aim for.

For their part, says, Ming, the unions and Government could help to entice Bermudians into the field by reviewing the present pay structure for chefs.

"There was a time when Bermuda employed chefs from France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and many other European countries, but now these chefs go elsewhere or stay in their own countries because they can earn more money,'' said Mr. Ming.

"The salaries are too low in Bermuda. At present the hotels are employing chefs from Asia and the Caribbean and I have no bad feelings against these fellow culinarians, but in order for Bermuda to encourage people to pursue a career in the culinary arts the salary structure has to be amended.''