Cooking has always been something that 22-year-old Dion Samuels has loved to do. Now, with the help of the National Training Board and the Fairmont Southampton Princess, he is working his way up through the ranks to become a Red Seal certified cook.

It was a culinary summer camp that Dion took part in while still a student at CedarBridge Academy that made the Warwick resident decide that he wanted to pursue a career in the culinary field.

"My whole family has always loved to cook," said Dion. "I just took it a step further and I am trying to make a career out of it."

He is the one of two Bermudians to take part in the National Training Board organised programme at the Canadian Culinary Institute at Prince Edward Island, Ontario.

The Bermuda Government and Holland College where the Canadian Culinary Institute is located have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide Bermudians interested in pursuing a career in the culinary arts with a venue to do so.

The culinary apprenticeships are made possible through the joint efforts of Fairmont Hotels Bermuda and the National Training Board, an agency within the Department of Labour and Training.

Fairmont pays for the apprentices' room, board and salary during their six-week training and the National Training Board pays the students' tuition.

After completing the training programme Dion will sit exams to become Red Seal certified.

The Red Seal programme sets the standard of excellence for many trades in Canada, including the culinary trade.

Upon completing the exams, Dion will earn a Certificate of Qualification and Apprenticeship a certification that is recognised internationally.

With Red Seal certification Dion could potentially work anywhere in the world.

Dion is completing the apprenticeship part of his certification working with famous Bermudian chef Herbie Bascome.

"Chef Bascome has been a huge inspiration to me," said Dion. "He has pushed me to try new things and how to better coordinate things in the kitchen. He has also helped me get more organised and manage my time better."

With Red Seal apprenticeships, an average 85 percent of a culinary apprentice's training is spent in the workplace with the balance spent at a training institution like Holland College.

Over the course of three years, each apprentice must log a minimum of 6,000 hours of kitchen work under the supervision of a Red Seal-certified chef before being qualified to sit the final exam.

"To be successful you need that real world experience," said Dion. "You cant just sit in a class room to learn properly you need to be hands-on. When I get my Red Seal it will show that I am capable of being a chef anywhere."

"Our new culinary apprenticeship programme with Holland College is just one example of the opportunities the National Training Board makes available for Bermudians willing to undertake career training," said Pandora Glasford, executive officer of the National Training Board.

"We are eager to find people who are prepared to step up to an exciting challenge. Fairmont is the first employer to enrol culinary apprentices in this programme and we applaud their initiative."

Those interested in culinary or other vocational training can visit the National Training Board website at www.NTB.bm to learn about available programmes.

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