The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (CIDOT) has launched its newest training series, Immersed. Immersed is part of the PRIDE training programme and is a monthly hands-on learning experience focusing on authentic Caymanian culture and heritage. The 90-minute sessions will cover Caymanian traditions such as Caymanian cuisine, catboat sailing, Art of Thatching, and more.
Geared towards service providers in the tourism industry, educators, and students, each session is held outside of office hours and at community locations across the island. Persons interested in registering are encouraged to sign up at
pride.ourcayman.ky.
The first Immersed session was held on Wednesday, 17 March, and covered Caymanian cuisine. The session focused on one of Cayman’s traditional dishes, fried fish, fritters and swanky. East Ender, Alvin McLaughlin and past Ministry of Tourism scholar, Jamal Miller were on hand to teach participants how to prep and cook the popular dish.
Mrs. Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism, shared her enthusiasm for the series, “We are most proud to offer this training to the community. The Department of Tourism believes that preserving our culture and heritage is of utmost importance for our tourism industry. It is our hope that through the Immersed programme persons will further expand their knowledge of the traditional Caymanian way of life and be able to share that knowledge with visitors.”
PRIDE is a training programme established to create a culture of service excellence within the tourism industry, as well as enhance the Cayman Islands’ competitiveness as a tourism destination. The PRIDE programme offers other workshops and webinars such as Promises and Know Your Cayman Islands.
CIDOT’s PRIDE facilitator, Janet Holness weighs in on Chef Alvin McLaughlin’s fritters technique.