Turns 10! The College of HRM, Tourism and Nutrition annually celebrate the exhibition and showcase of talents and skills of its students in its so called Skills Olympics. The said event highlights the God Given talents and skills of the students to different aspects and areas of expertise of the Hospitality Industry and Tourism Industry. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the College and it commemorates the 10 years of Paulinian hospitality education. Hence, a decade of hospitality excellence is this year’s theme for the said event. With a series of competitions and Guest Speakers, this year’s Skills Olympics turned out to be a memorable one for the students, the instructors and the administration.
The 10th Skills Olympics held last August 22 at the SPUI Gym opened with a mass of thanksgiving for the 10th year anniversary of the College celebrated by Rev. Fr. Joey Mabborang at the SPUI Gym. Followed by a talk in Tourism Industry: its Socio-Economic Impact in the Community with Guest Speaker from the Department of Tourism Iloilo Office, Ms. Melanie Ortega and then followed by a Cooking Demo from Chef OJ Salazar, owner of Perri Todd’s Burgers, he demonstrated easy to cook dishes for the students to try using homemade lumpia wrappers and grocery staples. The first day ended with students trying out the dishes Chef OJ has prepared.
The second day, students showcased their talents in Table Skirting, Cake Decorating, Tour Guiding, Tourism Photography, Food Photography and the highlight of the day? The Bartending Competition which was sponsored by Tanduay “the number 1 rhum” showcased the Bartending, Mixing and Flair tending talents of the students competed by 7 pairs of participants from different year levels of the HRM Program, with the party going on, some of the Alumni also attended the afternoon event. The day was filled with cheers and joy as the pairs entertained the audience with their amazing techniques and performances. The event with a bang!
And for the main event of the Skills Olympics, was celebrated at the third or last day of the event. The much anticipated and watched Iron Chef Competition tested the culinary teams of their knowledge, technique and creativity to whip up delectable dishes using this year’s secret Ingredient- Green or Ripe Mangoes and grab the Iron Chef 2012 Crown. The culinary teams competed with the time, resources and each other to cook, and present their dishes to esteemed panel of judges. The modified International Kiosks was turned into Festival Kiosks to celebrate the Philippines’ colorful and festive celebrations of Festivals. New to the lineup was the King and Queen of Festivals which was participated by the Festival Kiosks Teams from the Tourism Program, the SPUI Gym was filled with cheers as they support their bet for the Title of King of Festivals and Queen of Festivals. The Celebration was concluded with the awarding of the 10th Skills Olympics winners.
The Skills Olympics gives students the avenue to discover and hone their God Given Talents in the field they are about to lead in the future as one of its leaders and contributors. Long live the College of HRM, Tourism, and Nutrition striving for excellent Paulinian Hospitality Education through the years. TP