The number of young people taking up a career as a chef is expected to rise this year following an injection of new life into the profession.

About 50 people attended a recent seminar designed to attract potential chefs to the culinary arts at the Fairmont Southampton Princess and the National Training Board (NTB) has revealed that it will spend more than $300,000 on completely re-equipping the Bermuda College kitchens.

NTB executive officer Michael Stowe said he felt a new apprenticeship, which has been launched in conjunction with the Bermuda Chef Association, and the new kitchens would lure people into the food trade.

The two agencies held a chef search seminar to provide potential chefs with information about available courses and apprenticeships and to gauge interest, which Mr. Stowe said was high.

He said: "We want to refurbish the kitchens at the college to an international training standard so they are consistent with what is used overseas. We have an architect who has been at the college this week to do the design work and the plans will be vetted by advisors overseas to ensure that what we are doing is to the best possible standard. We believe there will be an increase in interest this year."

He said the idea was to provide students will the same equipment as they would have to use at restaurants, hotels and training courses abroad.

He said: "The old concept of a chef was someone who was toiling in a hot steamy kitchen without any thanks or gratitude. Now when we talk about executive chefs, no one starts to discuss a salary under $100,000."

Stephan Juliusburger, executive chef at Sonesta Beach Resort and chairman of the Occupational Advisory Committee for Culinary Programs (OACCP), hatched the idea of having more internationally qualified Bermudian chefs about five years ago.

He said: "We were absolutely blown away by the number of people who attended the chef search. The staff and I did not expect so many people to come in and sign up for it.

"We had a school librarian who has a passion for food and who is considering a change of career, students as young as 12 who were interested in becoming chefs, and existing chefs who wanted to either get qualified or wanted to upgrade their culinary skills.

"This was interesting because we have a three-focus system that deals with just that.

"Previously home economic classes were for girls learning to cook for their husbands, but, today, young women and young men want to learn how to prepare a meal. Also, with the public's love of food that not only looks good, but tastes good as well, it could be an explosion of the culinary arts - today food has a new relevance that it didn't have in the past."

And he said being a chef was all about passion, concentration, natural ability, and the touch of and the taste of food.

He added: "If the Government was to consider reintroducing home economics in schools, we could bring in people from industry to teach."

The chef courses are rolling out this September at the Bermuda College in conjunction with the Chef Search initiative.

Instruction will take place at the Bermuda College and apprenticeships are being provided at the Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel and the Sonesta Beach Resort.

Interested chefs need a high school diploma or an equivalent, such as on the job training.