ERASMUS+ Cooking@Sea 01/10/2017-31/8/2020

Description of the project

Many European coastal regions are characterized by a strong tourism industry, based on coastal tourism, beaches, leisure and nature. These tourist economies provide a high level of gastronomical services; guests receive excellent food in restaurants, while the local (Maritime) high quality food finds its way to the kitchens. To maintain this high quality of gastronomy and secure it for the future, quality chefs are needed who are able to process local food products in an innovative and sustainable way (new skills). In doing so they promote the region as a top tourist and gastronomic region. However, the coastal regions have a shortage of chefs and specially shortage of chefs with the right skills. The Hospitality labour market has to identify future-proof skills, what becomes the basis for innovations that have to be made in a changing touristic economy (new jobs).

The RIGA declaration states that an evident mismatch between skills supply and demand is hindering economic growth in Europe and hindering youth employment. This is not only true for technical jobs, but also, as the Cooking@Sea project proves, for cooks throughout Europe. VET plays an important role to overcome this problem, especially by using principles of Work based learning (WBL). Cooking@Sea project will work out WBL by identifying the mismatch of skills for chefs with a network of restaurants (companies), make them transparent on EU level using EQF, and work these skills out in a module in which learning at school and in enterprises is combined. The international approach of Cooking@Sea will work as an important input for the innovation that has to be made in the gastronomical labour market, both in the field of new skills, as in the field of VET. The project partners are aware of ESCO multilingual classification of European skills. ESCO is about getting people into work and tackling skills shortages and skills mismatches. At the same time qualifications differ between member states of Europe. Cooking@Sea project will reflect on emerging skill needs and facilitate the understanding of their qualification across the borders of the project.

The project Cooking@Sea works as an addendum to the regional cooking curriculum. Skills important for the cook of the future are at least: the pursuit of excellence, creativity, presentation, sustainability, durable cooking (low waste) and the ability to process the regional product in (new) dishes. The Cooking@Sea cooking-module for students will provide in a durable way the educational space to learn new skills for future chefs in every European region, open not only for youth in VET, but also for adult professionals in need of lifelong learning in the Hospitality industry. We will have at least 215 international students in the Cooking@Sea international pilots. We expect all of them (100%) to find a job after the Cooking@Sea course, within 6 months. The Teachers working in cooking education will be offered a Cooking@Sea training. As a result they will also be trained in the newly identified skills and receive a Cooking@Sea international training certificate (C@SITC) as proof of professional growth.

The Cooking@Sea project is strongly based on - and promoted by the local food production in every region. The project aims at a 80% use of local foods in the restaurants. Innovations in the European Maritime sector, for example the fishery industry, and maritime food production is presenting a new ''agriculture'' and it will benefit direct and indirect by the Cooking@Sea project. The Cooking@Sea project will promote these new products and also become a showcase how the products can and will be used as food for the consumer, even developing new recipes. Next to local food production low waste cooking is very important and the project aims for 50% less waste output in the kitchen.

The partners