{"id":183858,"date":"2014-11-05T04:00:14","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T18:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=183858"},"modified":"2014-11-05T04:00:14","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T18:00:14","slug":"tools-trade-donates-kitchen-equipment-nmti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/tools-trade-donates-kitchen-equipment-nmti\/","title":{"rendered":"Tools of the Trade donates kitchen equipment to NMTI"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ken<\/a>
Ken Stewart, right, general manager of Tools of the Trade from Guam, presents $900 worth of kitchen equipment to Northern Marianas Technical Institute president Agnes McPhetres. Dennis B. Chan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ken Stewart, general manager of Tools of the Trade from Guam, has donated about $900 worth of equipment for the culinary arts program of the Northern Marianas Technical Institute.<\/p>\n

Some of the equipment includes chef\u2019s knives, cutting boards, and chef\u2019s attires, among other things.<\/p>\n

Stewart is also known as the \u201cGuam Food Guy\u201d and reviews food stops at www.guamdiner.com. He sells culinary equipment to hotels on island. One thing he\u2019s gleaned from experience is the need to train young people to be job-ready for the culinary field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best way to do that is to have tools of the industry\u2026to have things that are going to help them achieve the work they are going to have to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Victorinox Forschner knives he donated are all industry quality, he said. The cutting boards are also color-coded for sanitation.<\/p>\n

The 12-piece knife set is an executive chef knife kit used by culinary students at the Guam Community College.<\/p>\n

In Guam, he said, Tools of the Trade usually sell culinary program-required equipment to GCC students at reduced prices.<\/p>\n

This is the first time the equipment has been donated, he said.<\/p>\n

NMTI president Agnes McPhetres expects their students to be happy that they will have access to tools they need for their program. Each of the students will have a set of the knives and a cutting board, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be working with Ken to make sure our culinary program is a top-notch program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The culinary class\u2019 current instructor is a chef from Hyatt Regency Saipan, according to McPhetres.<\/p>\n

She said NMTI hopes to expand their programs into high schools hopefully by spring.<\/p>\n

Right now, they have a program at Kagman High School under the Public School System, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually we will be carrying it out in other schools so that more students will be prepared. Especially for those that don\u2019t attend college right away. At least they have the skill, and at the same time they will have a job when they graduate,\u201d McPhetres said.<\/p>\n

This fall\u2019s culinary program starts on Nov. 12, according to her.<\/p>\n

Right now students are going through drug tests and other health paperwork before classes start.<\/p>\n

Ten have enrolled in this year\u2019s program from all over Saipan, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good start,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

McPhetres said some of them are high school graduates while some are dropouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll pick them up. We give them placements tests in English and math, and we give them accelerated programs in those areas too. Because they need mathematics for cooking, and they need to learn how to converse [as part of a hospitality career],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s program was postponed, according to McPhetres, as renovations for NMTI\u2019s culinary facility was still ongoing. The facility is finished, and more equipment continues to be purchased, she said.<\/p>\n

Classes will be in the evening for two and a half hours daily, she said.<\/p>\n

The program, beginning this month, ends in January.<\/p>\n

Stewart said he hopes this behooves all the hospitality businesses and hotels on island to work with NMTI to train the local workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be benefit tourism. It\u2019s going to benefit them having people who are job-ready come in to work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It has to be a partnership, he added. Businesses have to invest in Saipan, and invest in the future, he said.<\/p>\n

Right now NMTI only works with Hyatt but McPhetres said she intends to go to all the hotels on island to ask them to be part of the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should be involved\u201d from Coral Ocean Point, Pacific Islands Club, to Fiesta Resort, according to Stewart, in training cooks who understand sanitation, portion control, and cooking temperature, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are important things. That\u2019s what partnering with this training is [for],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ken Stewart, right, general manager of Tools of the Trade from Guam, presents $900 worth of kitchen equipment to Northern Marianas Technical Institute president Agnes McPhetres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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