A cross-border culinary educational project between two training institutes in Alba, Italy and Cannes, France has led to the development of a sustainable, transnational training model for current and future employees in the tourism and hotel sector.
Leaving a lasting impact on culinary training in France and Italy
- 29 January 2021
Seeing young people enthusiastic about discovering Europe, proud to show their successes to their families and teachers, seeing them waiting for the next opportunity to meet again and work together was the greatest success and gratification.
The EU-funded IMPACT involved students, teachers and staff of the two training academies, and companies, in a two-year training programme that responded to the region’s need for improved education, greater cooperation and youth empowerment.
Promoting transnational culinary collaboration
In total, 89 students between the ages of 16 and 18 enrolled in the programme, which was organised by the Apro Formazione in Alba and the Faculté des Métiers – Ecole Hôtelière in Cannes.
Along with the students, 20 teachers, trainers and staff from both academies joined the project. They expanded their professional skills by working in a multilingual and multicultural context. In addition, 78 companies were involved in the project, either by employing the students or by collaborating directly with the training centres in the organisation of the project.
Over two years, the project organised several seminars, foreign internships, 150 digital productions (videos, webinars) and over 300 hours of streaming sessions to help the students expand their knowledge and skills in cooking, using products and traditional recipes from the cross-border territory.
The students and teachers participated in transnational events, competitions and educational dinners as well. To ensure greater involvement in all phases of the training, they organised and managed these events themselves, from start to finish.
An innovative, digital approach to culinary training
The project used an innovative, bilingual and digital educational platform that helped improve the students’ skills in language and digital technologies. They learnt new technical and digital competences, increasing their chances of being employed in the sector.
With the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, the digital platform allowed the students to exploit the benefits of e-learning in the safety of their homes. The platform will remain in use after the end of the project to facilitate continuous collaboration between peer groups from different countries.
France and Italy both have a vibrant tourism, food and wine industry that employs thousands of people. The industry’s constant development requires new and innovative approaches to the training, education and certification of its workforce.
The IMPACT project has successfully opened a path towards the recognition of competences developed in a cross-border context and could serve as a pilot project for vocational education and training qualifications.
By co-organising the project and involving teachers and staff in the training programme, both institutes have expanded their collaboration with industry partners and improved their educational offer, international attractiveness and overall reputation.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “IMPACT – IMmersione nel PAtrimonio Culinario Transfrontaliero” is EUR 1 273 078, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 082 116 through the “Interreg V-A - France-Italy (ALCOTRA)” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Applied innovation”.