Students enrolled in the tourism service curriculum at Chapala’s Escuela Preparatoria Regional will be able to learn all the in and outs of operating a successful restaurant business through the Centro de Empredurismo Sentli program to be launched within the next couple of weeks.
The budding restaurateurs will hone their skills in a top-notch kitchen facility and a dining terrace annex that has been built on the school campus. The space is now in the process of being fully equipped with technical guidance and financing provided by the Chapala Sunrise Rotary Club.
Students will learn all aspects of restaurant operations, from menu planning, food shopping, nutrition, the hygienic handling of products and equipment, accounting and management, to meal preparation and service.
Following a month of basic training, they will gain hands-on experience through running an on-site supplemental meal program available to fellow students of limited means. The covered dining terrace will open for morning and afternoon shifts.
“That will meet our goal of feeding kids who come to school hungry,” notes Sunrise Club president Sheila Paull.
“The principal aims of the program are to guide students towards success as restaurant entrepreneurs and to give them practical experience in the field,” explains project coordinator Paco Beltrán.
Future components of the program will include workshops taught by professional chiefs, the creation of cook book of recipes using ingredients the basic Mexican pantry and development of kitchen gardens both on campus and in farming fields near its Mezcala sister school.