My husband and I took the time off to visit Paris after we were sure that my daughter, Nikkie was perfectly adjusted in her new school in Switzerland. It would also be a good time to do the usual R & R/ rest and recreation and take time off from my busy schedule.
While in Paris we were invited to dinner by a classmate of mine from the University of the Philippines (UP) who now works in the Sales Department of the plush Four Seasons Hotel in France. Dinner was a get together of former classmates from UP who are now staying in Paris happily married or enjoying a successful management career in the big hotels there. Seeing my classmates in such high management positions was indeed over whelming. Our conversations ranged from where our classmates now and what are they doing; the government of P-Noy and the UP people we knew who are now members of his government team and to Mindanao affairs. One of my friend who works in a food distribution company in Paris said that Halal food is very popular now in Europe. That really caught me off guard!
What Halal? Popular in France? Halal is not even so popular here in Mindanao. How many of us look for halal food in restaurants or in groceries or in the markets?
In my advocacy with our Muslim businessmen especially those in agriculture and food; I would always encourage them to look into the opportunities of halal food and I would cite that our neighbors with big Muslim population is a huge market. Never did I think that halal food would be popular also in France.
Halal foods are foods that are allowed under Islamic dietary guidelines. According to these guidelines gathered from the Qu'ran, Muslim followers cannot consume the following: pork or pork by products animals that were dead prior to slaughtering animals not slaughtered properly or not slaughtered in the name of Allah blood and blood by products alcohol carnivorous animals birds of prey land animals without external ears these prohibited foods and ingredients are called haram, meaning forbidden in Arabic. Halal is One of the Most Humane Methods of Animal Slaughter Muslims are taught through the Qu'ran that all animals should be treated with respect and well cared for. The goal is to slaughter the animal, limiting the amount of pain the animal will endure. When an animal is slaughtered, the jugular vein is cut and the blood is allowed to drain from the animal. Remember, Muslims are prohibited from consuming animal.
France has the largest population of Muslims in Europe, about six million and the market for halal is twice the volume of the market for organic food which is also a hit in Europe. Halal market is growing nearly 10 percent a year and is estimated to reach about $ 5 .7 billion this year.
Halal foods are not only found in the usual small neighborhood stores but are now already found in french food industries, supermarkets and even restaurants. There are a good number of restaurants that serve Halal in traditional French dishes like boeuf carottes and cervelas de volaille; cans of foie gras; and bottles of Night Orient, an alcohol-free champagne made from grape pressings.
This is a far cry from the situation here in Mindanao where we seldom could halal food in our groceries or even halal good in fine restaurants
I visited a major French supermarket and I found an entire aisle devoted to halal food products, including chicken sausage, paella and lasagna. My friend told me that one supermarket chain called Auchan, carries a total of over 100 certified-halal cured meat products, along halal frozen goods and precooked halal meals.
Évian (the bottled water) has even placed a halal stamp on some of its bottles to reassure its Muslim clientele that the bottles had never been in close contact with alcohol, which would render the water haram, or unclean.
Our businessmen in the ARMM should pursue now with greater aggressiveness their capacity to produce Halal products that are internationally accepted . There should also be a move to introduce halal menus in our restaurants all over Mindanao not only as a support to our Muslim brothers but as well as for its health benefits.
(Joji Ilagan Bian is a strong and respected advocate for the development of the region. She is Chair of Joji Ilagan Foundation ( www.jojiilagancareercenter.com) ; President , Phil. Call Centers Alliance and Mindanao Tech Voc Schools Association; Mindanao Rep, Export Development Council. Email comments jojibian2@yahoo.com)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
The Business of Hospitality
In the Philippines, the term hospitality courses has not really gained wide acceptance as compared to the term hotel and restaurant management courses. Many of us still wonder why in the world are people now start using hospitality as a term closely related to tourism.
For one whose main business is focused in the delivery of many levels of hospitality education; there are times that I laugh because people would always relate the term to hospitality girls (a word which has a rather not-so-good connotation in Filipino culture since it means women whose occupation is to entertain the opposite sex) or even at times to the hospital /health business.
I take time to tell people; most especially our students and their parents to use hospitality course instead of the usual Hotel and Restaurant Management / terminology since this is a more acceptable term in the international and global arena .
Hospitality management studies provides focus on management and operations of hotels, restaurants, food establishments and service institutions, cruise ships, resorts, amusement parks, conventions and events , country clubs and may also include travel and tourism. The now growing Culinary Course or Chefs’ education is also part of the Hospitality program.
There are hotels and restaurants of all classes and standards all over the world and so you can just imagine the need for highly skilled hospitality managers and workers. In fact in the Philippines alone; you can see many hospitality schools and training centers sprouting left and right all over the metropolis.
A career in hospitality is very promising all over the global market. People think that graduates of this course can only work in hotels and restaurants. Industries such as casinos, theme parks, airlines, entertainment businesses, travel and tour agencies. Airlines, canteens, institutional food service centers may also be a good source of employment. This course is also ideal for those who wants to put up their own hotel. restaurant and catering businesses.
All these and more are included in the category of hospitality. As you can see, most of these are what you may call the “essentials” in the realm of tourism. And for sure, you know how important tourism is in whatever place or country you may be. Thus, you can expect that an industry like this could definitely bloom even in the coming years.
However, it is not only tourists that these jobs serve. Even locals alike are served too. For sure locals also dine in restaurants and go to casinos and even stay in hotel during the holidays and the week ends. This factor makes the whole industry more stable. Even if it’s not the peak season of tourists, locals are still there to keep the industry alive and kicking!
I am now writing this article sipping cappuccino and enjoying the view of Lake Geneva here in Montreux Switzerland which is the home of the two best hospitality schools in the world – Glion and Hotel Institute de Montreux (HIM) which is a subsidiary of the Swiss International Hotel School of Management .My youngest daughter Nicole will be starting her Post Graduate Course in Hospitality Management in HIM and will stay here for the next six(6) months. I took time out from my busy business schedule to bring my daughter here and help her get settled in her new school. I feel as if I am again brining my daughter to her first pre school where just like any mother – you take the time to check the school; talk to the teachers; get a look at the classrooms and the facilities making sure that you made the right choice.
I also took it as an opportunity to network and forge possible linkages with HIM and work for a cross accreditation of my schools; the Joji Ilagan College of Business and Tourism (JIB) and the Institute of International Culinary and Entrepreneurship (ICHEF) in Davao City and the International School of Hotel and Tourism Mgt (IS-HTM) which will soon open in the bustling city of Gen Santos next year. Today, students in all of my school are given the opportunity to gain Australian qualifications, credentials and diploma through our partnership with TAFE New Southwales Southwestern Sydney Institute (TAFE NSW SWSI) and the Australian Trade College North Brisbane in Australia. The Australia qualification is recognized all over the world and so our students have better access to international careers and employment. It would be great to bring the Swiss qualifications to the students of Davao City, This may seemed to be an ambitious endeavor; but I am crossing my fingers that it can be done. It took me two(2) years and four (4) visits to the TAFE Australia before the educational agreement between our schools was signed. Nothing is impossible with perseverance and patience.
************************
I am saddened by the sudden death of Mindanao Times Foodie Columnist, Noel Castro whom I had the pleasure of meeting a month ago. He interviewed me for a feature of ICHEF and we immediately found a common ground which is food. I personally took him for a tour around ICHEF where he met our students and Chef Mike Oberle in one of our kitchens. We even tasted the wonderful pasta that they made with the different sauces and he was all praises for our students. I invited Noel again to visit our Chefs’ Kitchen Student Training Restaurant where I ask his comments/recommendations about the menu that our students prepared. In an email from him that I received here in Switzerland, he shared with me so many ideas and I emailed him back that I am so excited to be back in Davao already and have coffee with him. I opened my email last night when I came back in my hotel room and there I got the message from my office that Noel had passed away. My prayers and condolences to his family. I thank God for the joy of knowing Noel even for just a brief moment!
(Joji Ilagan Bian is a strong and respected advocate for the development of the region. She is Chair of Joji Ilagan Foundation ( www.jojiilagancareercenter.com) ; President , Phil. Call Centers Alliance and Mindanao Tech Voc Schools Association; Mindanao Rep, Export Development Council. Email comments jojibian2@yahoo.com)
For one whose main business is focused in the delivery of many levels of hospitality education; there are times that I laugh because people would always relate the term to hospitality girls (a word which has a rather not-so-good connotation in Filipino culture since it means women whose occupation is to entertain the opposite sex) or even at times to the hospital /health business.
I take time to tell people; most especially our students and their parents to use hospitality course instead of the usual Hotel and Restaurant Management / terminology since this is a more acceptable term in the international and global arena .
Hospitality management studies provides focus on management and operations of hotels, restaurants, food establishments and service institutions, cruise ships, resorts, amusement parks, conventions and events , country clubs and may also include travel and tourism. The now growing Culinary Course or Chefs’ education is also part of the Hospitality program.
There are hotels and restaurants of all classes and standards all over the world and so you can just imagine the need for highly skilled hospitality managers and workers. In fact in the Philippines alone; you can see many hospitality schools and training centers sprouting left and right all over the metropolis.
A career in hospitality is very promising all over the global market. People think that graduates of this course can only work in hotels and restaurants. Industries such as casinos, theme parks, airlines, entertainment businesses, travel and tour agencies. Airlines, canteens, institutional food service centers may also be a good source of employment. This course is also ideal for those who wants to put up their own hotel. restaurant and catering businesses.
All these and more are included in the category of hospitality. As you can see, most of these are what you may call the “essentials” in the realm of tourism. And for sure, you know how important tourism is in whatever place or country you may be. Thus, you can expect that an industry like this could definitely bloom even in the coming years.
However, it is not only tourists that these jobs serve. Even locals alike are served too. For sure locals also dine in restaurants and go to casinos and even stay in hotel during the holidays and the week ends. This factor makes the whole industry more stable. Even if it’s not the peak season of tourists, locals are still there to keep the industry alive and kicking!
I am now writing this article sipping cappuccino and enjoying the view of Lake Geneva here in Montreux Switzerland which is the home of the two best hospitality schools in the world – Glion and Hotel Institute de Montreux (HIM) which is a subsidiary of the Swiss International Hotel School of Management .My youngest daughter Nicole will be starting her Post Graduate Course in Hospitality Management in HIM and will stay here for the next six(6) months. I took time out from my busy business schedule to bring my daughter here and help her get settled in her new school. I feel as if I am again brining my daughter to her first pre school where just like any mother – you take the time to check the school; talk to the teachers; get a look at the classrooms and the facilities making sure that you made the right choice.
I also took it as an opportunity to network and forge possible linkages with HIM and work for a cross accreditation of my schools; the Joji Ilagan College of Business and Tourism (JIB) and the Institute of International Culinary and Entrepreneurship (ICHEF) in Davao City and the International School of Hotel and Tourism Mgt (IS-HTM) which will soon open in the bustling city of Gen Santos next year. Today, students in all of my school are given the opportunity to gain Australian qualifications, credentials and diploma through our partnership with TAFE New Southwales Southwestern Sydney Institute (TAFE NSW SWSI) and the Australian Trade College North Brisbane in Australia. The Australia qualification is recognized all over the world and so our students have better access to international careers and employment. It would be great to bring the Swiss qualifications to the students of Davao City, This may seemed to be an ambitious endeavor; but I am crossing my fingers that it can be done. It took me two(2) years and four (4) visits to the TAFE Australia before the educational agreement between our schools was signed. Nothing is impossible with perseverance and patience.
************************
I am saddened by the sudden death of Mindanao Times Foodie Columnist, Noel Castro whom I had the pleasure of meeting a month ago. He interviewed me for a feature of ICHEF and we immediately found a common ground which is food. I personally took him for a tour around ICHEF where he met our students and Chef Mike Oberle in one of our kitchens. We even tasted the wonderful pasta that they made with the different sauces and he was all praises for our students. I invited Noel again to visit our Chefs’ Kitchen Student Training Restaurant where I ask his comments/recommendations about the menu that our students prepared. In an email from him that I received here in Switzerland, he shared with me so many ideas and I emailed him back that I am so excited to be back in Davao already and have coffee with him. I opened my email last night when I came back in my hotel room and there I got the message from my office that Noel had passed away. My prayers and condolences to his family. I thank God for the joy of knowing Noel even for just a brief moment!
(Joji Ilagan Bian is a strong and respected advocate for the development of the region. She is Chair of Joji Ilagan Foundation ( www.jojiilagancareercenter.com) ; President , Phil. Call Centers Alliance and Mindanao Tech Voc Schools Association; Mindanao Rep, Export Development Council. Email comments jojibian2@yahoo.com)
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