Support food industry for economic stability — Chef Anselem tells FG
By Amaike Ihuoma Okoronkwo, Port Harcourt
The Nigerian Government has been called upon to assist and support the Nigerian Food Industry to grow to maturity for economic sustainability and to achieve a successful business plan.
The call came from a Nigerian American based Chef Anselem during a lecture titled, “The Road Map to Sustainability and Successful Business Plan in Our Food Industry” delivered at the just concluded Niger Delta Cake and Food Exhibition in Port Harcourt on Wednesday the 4th of may, 2022.
Chef Anselem craved the indulgence of Niger Delta food vendors, pastries, bakers as well as caterers present and Nigerians at large to learn additional skills needed for sustainability in the food industry.
He maintained that it is sure bait to economic sustainability in the industry. Sharing from his experiences while abroad on how he was humbled and in his humility he became a model he had always aspired to be, he informed his audience how he had to peel garlic, potato and ginger for more than two years as an employment opportunity which many might turn down and show the back door.
For him, being an Executive Chef Director, a certified chef by American Culinary Federation, a Board of Trustee (BOT) member Nigerian Chef Federation and lots more had taken him years of experiences. But because he had a road map to sustainability and was able to draw a successful business plan as a career minded individual, he remained significance. While expressing some difficulties as well as challenges commonly faced here in Nigeria, he pleaded the Nigerian Federal Government to help the country by supporting exhibitions like the cake and food as organised by Cavos Craft Innovations for Nigerian based food vendors, bakers and caterers to help produce amazing results.
“I work with CMF Culinary Craft School, we have a branch in Lagos and another one in Port Harcourt, I do restaurant, kitchen and recipe set up and development, food brand awareness etc. We don’t have government support and people who are not properly and professionally trained are infiltrating the industry, they are not certified as a result and we end up having bad food in the restaurant, café, and bad chef attitude. Another thing is the economy which is not encouraging for people to cope, sometimes they know the best but because they cannot afford the best, they end up with something sub-standard which impacts negatively in the industry. So it would be very nice if the government would be part of the food industry because is medicine. The same way the government is concerned about medicine and drugs agencies like NAFDAC and so on, we also want them to be part of it to provide support so that we can get the right training.”
Confirming his plea, the event planner Ugwu Sandra confessed that getting sponsors for the event. According to her, they approached a lot of corporate bodies to key into the planning of the event but couldn’t succeed. The event had been an annual event even though it suffered a set back in 2020 and 2021 respectively due to COVID-19 protocols.
“We’ve had a lot and we still have lots of challenges. This event used to be Niger Delta Cake Exhibition and this time we added food to it Cavos Craft Innovations. The name Cavos Craft is a brand that is focused and interested in helping people grow and giving them platform to gain visibility and to come out and show the skill. These they have given these young food vendors and bakers free of charge just for encouragement. It is a platform from where professionals in the food industry allow you to have access to them unlike when you invite them and you are charge their professional resource fees without protocol. Here you meet them one on one and ask them questions and feel them. The sponsorship alone came from Cavos Craft to enable these professionals share their techniques and experiences as against when you attend their classes and pay through your nostrils to access their services. We draw facilitators as well as resource persons across Niger Delta, we have facilitators from Uyo, Benin, Asaba, Lagos Owerri etc and these people cannot be gathered if they have nothing to offer, they are loaded and have something to offer. It was very difficult getting private, corporate bodies and government agencies to sponsor and reduce the overhead cost of keeping this event running. If not for the COVID-19, we would have had it in 2020 and 2021 respectively. We need the government to come in to help sponsor these annual event, it would go a long way helping the industry.”
Responding to questions from journalists, Mrs Ann Egurube , one of the resource persons who doubles as a cake artist and instructor both home and abroad observed that lack of public awareness is a major challenge to the growth of the industry and encouraged the Nigerian public to key into the industry to help in the awareness. She opined that a lot of persons are yet to believe that caterers, bakers and food vendors are skilled entrepreneurs hence are yet see such as skills to acquire rather something to while away their time and sued for organisational structure for the industrial growth and development.
“This event is an awesome event that brings professionals across the country to display their talents in different categories and in their professions. I think one of the challenges facing the industry is that of awareness. A lot of people still do not see us as professionals hence our career for them are is not a skill to acquire, or something they can embrace and make a living from it. They don’t see it as something they would build their capacity on for self development so we still have the challenge of skill, technical knowhow on the art. Another challenge we have is that of organisation, we need proper organisation that can position and help restructure the industry to make people know the importance of what we can offer.” I advise Nigerians to take advantage of these opportunities and never take them for granted to develop their skills for economic development,” She maintained.
