A master’s touch
AT the biennial HOFEX, Asia’s leading food and hospitality tradeshow held in Hong Kong recently in May, Chong Suet Nie, a student from Berjaya University College of Hospitality’s (Berjaya UCH) Faculty of Culinary Arts clinched the gold medal in Western Hot Cooking / Apprentice: Lamb Rack, while course mate Ng Wei Xian won the bronze medal for Western Hot Cooking/ Apprentice: Whole Spring Chicken. The students were personally coached by their mentors Chef Vincent Pang and Global Master Chef Jochen Kern.
Meanwhile, at the recently concluded Careers@Hilton (May 2017), Koh Kay Kim emerged as the champion of Bar Cup, Jason Liew Jun Sheng as first runner-up for Barista Cup and Veronica Lim Siu Wen as first runner-up for Marketing and Commercial Pitch. The team has been practising with lecturers Kumaran Govindarajoo, Dewi Pratomo and Justin Ho.
“These students excelled in the face of stiff competition in the international arena and we are very proud of each one of them,” said Berjaya UCH vice-chancellor Emeritus Prof Walter Wong.
Another student who excelled was John Tan, who emerged as the national champion in the Monin Coffee Creativity Cup (Open Category). Tan will be Malaysia’s representative to the regional finals in South Korea in November.
“Tan was mentored by one of our former lecturers Shaun Liew,” said Berjaya UCH Bachelor in Hospitality Management and Foundation in Hospitality Head of Programme, Ronald Willie Binati.
“It is not unusual to see students, lecturers as well as ex-lecturers stay back after office hours to practise. We are fortunate to have a bunch of very enthusiastic and passionate students to mentor and work with. At the end of the day it is really the students’ zeal and dedication that have driven them to rise above the challenge.”
At the Kuala Lumpur Mayor’s Tourism Awards (May 2017), the triennial awards programme spearheaded by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and Kuala Lumpur Tourism Bureau, Berjaya UCH was awarded the gold award for Education Tourism.
“All these awards came in the footsteps of the university college being voted Hospitality Institution of the Year (Regional) at the annual World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence ceremony held in March in Singapore,” said Berjaya UCH executive director/chief executive officer Mae Ho.
“We are honoured to have received and accorded these awards both from the industry and various governing bodies. With these awards, Berjaya UCH is further poised to be a leader in hospitality education at both the national and international levels. We share the same values with the industry by focusing on nurturing hospitality, culinary and tourism talents in Asia.”
“It is my personal belief that to be the best, we must associate ourselves with the best – this is what we have always strived to do at Berjaya UCH. It is our belief and vision that Berjaya UCH graduates, after having been groomed here will be able to gain recognition for themselves and their future careers as outstanding global professionals. We are also grateful to the many institutions and industry partners in our regional and international networks who have collaborated with us and helped us to provide these opportunities to our students,” Ho added.
“Without question, the Berjaya UCH immersion methodology has proven to be a successful model in the development of our students beyond the classroom environment,” Emeritus Professor Wong pointed out.
“We have worked tirelessly with our industry partners to provide exposure for our students and our lecturers have also played a significant part in the process through their constructive engagement with the students to ensure mentoring and coaching are an integral component of our students’ knowledge acquisition and skills development. This holistic approach helps students reach their full potential to provide a seamless transition from being a student to future leaders in the industry.”
Affordable higher education for everyone:
Berjaya University College of Hospitality is working to make higher education more accessible, affordable and attainable for everyone. The PTPTN (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional or National Higher Education Fund Corporation) education financing scheme and Berjaya Business School scholarships are available for Malaysian students. Its affiliation with the Berjaya Corporation Group of Companies also allows it to host the Tan Sri Vincent Tan International Scholarship and Bursary 2017 available to both local and international students.
■ Visit Berjaya UCH at the Star Education Fair 2017 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on June 10 and 11 at Hall 5, Booth No.B36, B37, B44, B45.
For details on Berjaya UCH, visit http://www.berjaya.edu.my.