North Vancouver Island Chefs Association, LUSH Valley Food Action Society and North Island College are teaming up to provide training for culinary-inspired students in the Comox Valley.

鈥淲e are very excited to create this new opportunity for students,鈥� said Lesley Stav, president, North Vancouver Island Chefs Association. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a growing demand in the Comox Valley for people to prepare food and build the dynamic skills needed to run a successful food truck business.鈥�

The program is 180 hours of hands-on training that focuses on the basics of cooking, such as knife skills, basic baking, as well as cooking in a mobile kitchen for events, food truck operations such as menu planning and pricing. It starts Aug. 21.

鈥淟USH Valley works with 25 Comox Valley farms and is encouraged by a new program that utilizes an abundance of local flavours to prepare a variety of dishes and menus,鈥� said Maurita Prato, executive director, LUSH Valley Action Society.

鈥淪tudents will 鈥榚xtend the season鈥� of produce by creating value-added products such as dehydrated mixes and sauces. By working in the Farmer鈥檚 Kitchen food truck and other settings, students will gain skills and confidence in food preparation and service while supporting our local food economy, improving food security and 鈥榮haring the harvest鈥� with our community.鈥�

The program emerged as a result of conversations with NIC, LUSH Valley Food Action Society and the North Island Chefs Association about food security and economic development.

The training is fully funded for students who are either unemployed or are working less than 30 hours per week, so it鈥檚 an excellent opportunity for students looking for practical training or a change in career.

鈥淣orth Island College鈥檚 Continuing Education and Training has really been prioritizing developing partnerships between community organizations and knowledge specialists in order to meet the needs of students in an accessible way,鈥� said Bob Haugen, NIC director, Continuing Education and Contract Training. 鈥淭he partnership offered NIC the opportunity to co-ordinate a program we have wanted to develop for a long time - helping meet the needs of so many different employers in the Comox Valley, from grocery stores, delis, restaurants, food trucks and food processing.鈥�

Funding for the Food Prep and Mobile Kitchen Training program is provided by the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada through the Canada-BC Workforce Development Agreement.

Students interested in the Food Prep and Mobile Kitchen Training program at NIC can contact Susan Murray at susan.murray@nic.bc.ca