 Hello and welcome to interview a production of the Government Information Service. I'm your host for today, Jolene Beset-Joseph. Chefs in Schools, an initiative of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association. Since its conception, the aim of the initiative is to aid in providing guidance to food and nutrition students from industry chefs. Over a duration of months, the chefs share experiences and advice with students. The program culminates in a national culinary competition called SLHDA Chefs in Schools. Where two students from each school gain the chance to participate. And today we are joined by two of those schools. Today, first of all, we are joined by students from the Sir Ira Simon Secondary School. So first of all, ladies, thank you for joining me. And can you introduce yourself? My name is Liliane Peter and I attend the Sir Ira Simon Secondary School. I am Amalia Louie and I also attend the Sir Ira Simon Secondary School. Brilliant. Now, first of all, tell me a little bit about how you became a part of the competition. Maybe you want to go first. Well, I do effininate in my school and from since when I was younger, I had a passion for cooking. My mother loves to cook at home so I developed a feeling for cooking too. Okay, brilliant. And you? I also grew up watching the Food Network with my good grandmother and my cousins. And I always said to myself that when I get older, I love to join the effininate group. So I made that come true. Okay, brilliant. Now, I know for the competition, not normally. I don't know, in your school part of your course, do you normally work in teams, a part of groups to cook? Or is it a case of you normally do your things individually? We do both. You do both? So how is it working as a team, the two of you all together as part of this competition? Perfect. We are best friends. Oh, brilliant. So it's like you compliment each other. All right, excellent. Okay, now, as you've entered into the competition, do you feel confident to win? Yes. All right, tell me a little bit about where this confidence comes from. Is it because I understand there's two parts of the competition. There's a mystery basket, right? Yes. And there's also signatures. Is it because of what you'll be cooking? Tell me a little bit about why you're feeling so confident? Our chef. She motivates us a lot and we appreciate that. Okay. And what do you think makes you confident in the competition? Just doing everything as a team together and getting ready. Okay. Now you mentioned your chef. What's your chef's name? Chef Sarah George. And which resort? Sanders Grand. Okay, so you've been going there to train, I understand, yeah? What's the training been like? Is it very intense or how do you find it? Sometimes it can be intense. She really pushes us to do everything we have to do. But it's really good. We enjoy ourselves a little bit. She makes us have fun at the same time, but we know what we have to do and what we came to do. Okay. Now in saying that, as you've gone to the resort, I know it's very different. When you're a student in school, it's a bit more relaxed. So as you've gone to the resort in seeing how a kitchen operates, how have you found it? Do you find it very overwhelming or is it something, what did you see and what did you take in? Well, the surrounding is new to us apart from the school. So it's really different. And seeing the chef's work sometimes, I just get tired seeing them work. It's so fast-paced. Oh, wow, okay. Now, are both of you thinking of going into this as a career path? It's one of my thoughts I have. Okay. And what would you like to do then? I mean, what form are you all in now? Form 4. Form 4? Do you have any thought to what you might like to do when you leave school? It's around the place. Would you think you'd like to go into maybe the career of food and touch legs? Okay, brilliant. Now, I know that after the competition ends, if you do win the competition, you have to go forth to represent St. Lucien Barbados, right? How would you find that? Would there be something you would look forward to? Yes, it's very exciting. And to be a different experience. You started in your school, and now you're traveling to compete for your country. That's very good. Okay, no problem. Now, as you were saying, you're in Form 4 at the moment. This is a competition that takes place every year. Would you recommend to other students to be part of this if they often come in? And why would you recommend that maybe they should take part in the competition? Yes, it gives you opportunities around the world. So if you want to go in that career, you'll get a better chance. You have the experience already. Okay. I would say it's an advantage to the further world. Okay, alright. And going forth again, how has it been within your school? Are you getting a lot of support from friends and such? What kind of support have you been getting? Well, they always routine for us. They always say they kind of wait for the competition just to come in and shout out to them. Because our friends, all of us close, and half of us doing effort in. Oh, really? Yes. All of us together. We have the support from our friends and our teachers. That's very good, okay? And you feel the same way? Yes. Okay, no problem. Okay, we're going forth again. I know that the competition might be a little stressful, but when I'm hoping to hear you guys coming out on top, and I wish you all the best in the competition, but was there anything you would like to say to anybody in regards to the competition just about how Sahara is going forth in this competition? Just no Sahara coming for them. We're coming. That's brilliant. Ladies, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Okay, it's time for a break. We'll be back in a few moments. The world's climate is changing, and that affects all of us. Storms are becoming increasingly intense. Periods of intense drought and heavy rain stress farm animals and destroy our crops. Higher average ocean temperatures kill our coral reefs and change the migratory patterns of fish. St. Lucia contributes only 0.0015% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but is doing its part, along with countries around the world, to reduce the emissions that are warming our world and changing our climate. These efforts are called mitigation, but decades of emissions have already changed the climate and the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today will increase average global temperatures even more. We need to adapt. That is, do everything we can to prepare for and respond to the actual and expected negative effects of climate change and everyone has a role to play. We need to protect our crops, build homes that withstand storms and keep our drains and waterways free of garbage to help us recover or bounce back from climatic events. Learn more about the Government of St. Lucia's National Adaptation Plan and the steps you can take to protect yourself and your fellow St. Lucia's. Welcome back to Interview. I am Jolene B. Set-Joseph. Today, we are talking to students who will be participating in the SLHDA Chefs in Schools Cook-Off. Now we are joined by a couple of students from the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School. So ladies, if you can introduce yourself for us. My name is Kira Odom. I am from the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School. My name is Ashley Muna. I am 14 years... Carry on. That's okay. My name is Ashley Muna. I am 15 years old and I represent the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School. Okay, brilliant. Now ladies, I was talking to the students before about how they feel about taking part in the competition. What are your feelings about taking part in this competition? Well, for me, I feel proud. As a student, representing my school in such a... It's not really big, but it's a big thing for me. Taking part in it is really... I feel proud. It's a national competition. You should be proud. You should be very proud of yourself. For me, I am very elated to be representing my school in self-inventory. I usually enjoy it. Okay, brilliant. And how did you both become part of the competition? Well, the chefs came to our school. They had a demonstration on how to prepare different dishes and stuff. And I was like, you know what? I really want to participate in this competition. It inspired me because I am an infinite student. I love to see the way they put together different flavors and it just... Brilliant. Okay. For me, my teacher thought that I was suitable enough to represent my class. You know, my performance was outstanding. So, you know... And for me, as a student of FNN, FNN is something I enjoy from way back, starting with my father. It's something that I do from since I was little. Okay. Oh, brilliant. Okay. And let me ask both of you. You both said you're a FNN student. Yeah. Are you thinking of maybe carrying on and taking this up as a career, either of you? If I were to take it up as a career, I feel like I would know what to do since I took part in the competition. I would know what is expected of me. So, I'd better mesh into the culinary industry. Excellent. And what about you, Ashley? Well, growing up as a young child, I took FNN as more as a hobby. Okay. You know, in the kitchen with my dad, trying out different flavors, spices and textures. But if I... If I path with me to be in the chef, I am sure I might be the next leader of the competition. Very good. Very ambitious. Well, you see, going forth as well, that confidence is brilliant, in my opinion. So, how do you feel about going forth in the competition? Are you just as confident that... Yes. Yes, you're confident. Yes. Okay. Because it's not only our school representing, but you're also representing our own family. Oh, brilliant. And who's your trainee chef? Chef Nigel has been very helpful. Chef Eastman. And there are other chefs in the kitchen that help us. They give us feedback. They give us stuff. Say, this is to dry. This needs salt. You know. And give us different methods in which we can improve our dish. Okay. Is there any part that you all feel a little, like that intimidates you at all? I know that, for instance, I know something he used to do, FNN. And the plating was always something he used to always say, like, oh, has he plated it properly and stuff like that. Is there anything that you all feel a bit intimidated about in regards to presenting your... whatever you've produced? Well, like you said, the plating, sometimes you'd be like, is this bright enough, that attracts people? Would I want to eat that? Would my parents want to eat that? Do you think about with that color, go with that color? Right. Yeah, you think about this kind of stuff. Okay. For me, when it comes to the plating, I always worry about, is my starch taking up more of the attention and the protein. Yeah. Okay. All right. Okay, brilliant. Now, we're going to be running out of time soon, but before we do run out of time, I just want to get some feedback as to how you all will feel if you were to come up on top. Do you feel confident you're going to come up on top? And after that, you'll be representing St. Lucia, understanding Barbados. Yeah. How do you feel about that? I feel it's like a good opportunity for me. Okay. It's a great opportunity to represent our country. Yeah. Not only our country, but our school, you know... And to say that, I actually came from Cassius Comprehensive. Excellent. Okay. What would you say to people out there in regards to CCSS going forth in this competition? Well... Would you tell them to look out? I would. Okay. All right. That sounds brilliant. Ladies, it's been a pleasure talking to you all. Honestly, it has. Are you getting a lot of support from school? Yes, you get a lot of support from our teachers. Being there for the first round, the step of the way. Our school, our family, actually bringing us to the place promptly on time as others. Okay. There's the other teachers at the hotel. Yeah. Okay. Brilliant. As I said, it's been a pleasure talking to you. Thank you for joining us today, and I wish you all the best in the competition. Thank you. Thank you. However, this is the end of interview for today. So, from us here at the GIS, bye-bye for now.