PEP hospitality trainees prepare Valentine Day luncheon for cosmetology trainees

Basseterre, St. Kitts (February 17, 2014) — Love was in the air as 37 students of the People Employment Programme (PEP) School of Cosmetology in Newtown, Basseterre, were treated to a special Valentine’s Day luncheon and exchanged gifts among themselves on Friday February 14.

PEP Food Preparation students who prepared the food, from left, Kadejah Matthew, Latoya Burke, Colleen Gumbs and Seubriena Rouse.
PEP Food Preparation students who prepared the food, from left, Kadejah Matthew, Latoya Burke, Colleen Gumbs and Seubriena Rouse.

“We at PEP School of Cosmetology are celebrating Love Month,” said Senior Facilitator Ms Juliette Queeley. “We have been having some rough time so we figured we will choose February to be a month of love where we show some love in any special way.”

Ms Queeley along with her fellow facilitators, Mrs Amoy Arache and Ms Petra Newton got together and decided to do a luncheon for the students on Valentine’s Day. Things fell in place quickly for the class which is based on the top floor of the Newtown Community Centre, as the PEP Hospitality class occupies the floor below.

They approached the PEP hospitality team’s facilitators, Mr Dominic Steven, Mr Jason Morton and Mrs Joan Millard, who came on board and offered to make the three course meal. Ms Queeley made the traditional souse.

“Today is Valentine’s Day and the Cosmetology group is treating their class and their guests, and so the Hospitality group has agreed to do the catering for them and use it as a training practical in their modules,” said Mr Dominic Steven.

PEP Food and Beverage students who served the food.
PEP Food and Beverage students who served the food.

“The persons in the Food Preparation are the ones preparing the meal that we will be serving this afternoon and the Food and Beverage class will do the service of the food and the drinks. It is going to be shown and used as one of their practical presentations as we continue our training.”

Invited for the luncheon were PEP Training Coordinator Mrs Celia Christopher, her assistant Mrs Diana Pemberton and PEP’s Facilitator for the Entrepreneurial Development module Ms Dawn Mills.

The classroom upstairs was converted into a dining room whose ambience rivalled that of Oscar Awards gala night as it was adorned in Valentine’s Day decorations. Individual gifts had been nicely packaged and kept in a corner while the students waited outside.

Once the food was ready, the students were escorted into the room two at a time by smartly dressed young men Mr Damarni Tyrell and Mr Trevis Belle. After all the students were escorted to their tables, the facilitators Ms Queeley and Mrs Arache were escorted into the room, while Ms Newton who came in last was escorted sandwiched between the two men.

 PEP Facilitators and their guests, from left: Ms Juliette Queeley, Mrs Celia Christopher, Mrs Amoy Arache, Ms Petra Newton, Mrs Diana Pemberton, and Ms Dawn Mills.
PEP Facilitators and their guests, from left: Ms Juliette Queeley, Mrs Celia Christopher, Mrs Amoy Arache, Ms Petra Newton, Mrs Diana Pemberton, and Ms Dawn Mills.

At the end of the luncheon Cosmetology student, Ms Jameisha Peets, distributed gifts to their guests Mrs Christopher, Mrs Pemberton and Ms Mills, while Facilitator Ms Newton distributed individual gifts to all the students and facilitators.

Training Coordinator Mrs Christopher thanked the Cosmetology students for the their thoughtful action of spreading love amongst each other, and thanked the Hospitality students for preparing such a high quality meal and serving it with aplomb like seasoned caterers proving that the time they have spent in the training was bearing fruits.

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