Cebu hospitality festival to boost student skills

CEBU, Philippines — A new hospitality festival in Cebu will give students opportunities to sharpen their skills, compete with peers from other parts of the country, and gain exposure to industry professionals as organizers seek to prepare the next generation of tourism and hospitality workers.

The 1st Cebu Food, Beverage, and Tourism Festival 2026, themed “Cebu to the World: Showcasing the Next Generation of Hospitality Talent,” is set for October 9 and 10.

The inaugural festival is a collaboration among the Food and Beverage Council Cebu Chapter, Pastry Guild of Cebu, and Educators Association for Regional Tourism and Hospitality Inc. (EARTH).

Food and Beverage Council Cebu Chapter president Edmar Malaca said the festival was conceived after organizers observed a gap between students and industry practitioners during a culinary and bartending competition.

He said the new festival aims to bring students closer to industry standards and prepare them for major culinary and hospitality competitions.

“This is not a one-time event. It’s a continuous development,” Malaca said.

He explained that the development of participants will continue even after the competition, with winners to be mentored and given opportunities to participate in industry activities and gain further exposure.

Malaca said the Food and Beverage Council and other participating organizations will adopt promising student winners and provide them with continuing training and mentorship.

Two winners in the pastry competition, for instance, will be sponsored by Artisans Chocolate for an all-expenses-paid training program in Jakarta, Indonesia, where they will also have the opportunity to attend a food expo.

Winners in the bartending and coffee categories will likewise be given opportunities to participate in bar takeovers and other industry activities in various hospitality establishments.

Pastry Guild of Cebu founder and adviser Gabriel “Chef Gab” Garcia said the event would help narrow the gap between students and professional culinarians.

Garcia, a retired pastry chef who previously worked with Waterfront Cebu, said Cebu students should be given opportunities to compete at a level closer to professional practitioners.

“Our dream is yung student and professional culinarians, they battle,” Garcia said.

The Pastry Guild has prepared several competitions, including the pralines and chocolate showpiece category, where participants will be encouraged to showcase their creativity and technical skills.

Garcia said the winners will receive opportunities for chocolate training and industry exposure in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, EARTH president Rene Osorno said the organization’s participation reflects its continuing effort to bridge the gap between academe and the hospitality and tourism industry.

Established about four years ago, EARTH provides training and professional development programs for educators while giving students opportunities to join competitions and other activities.

The organization now has nearly 200 institutional member schools from Cebu and other areas, including some from Mindanao.

“Through this competition, we elevate the students’ skills, not only their knowledge; we elevate it to industry standards so that they will be the next one, the next generation who would be manning our hospitality and tourism industry,” Osorno said.

He said competitions allow students to apply classroom knowledge in situations that reflect actual industry requirements.

Osorno added that closer collaboration between educators and industry practitioners would also allow schools to adjust their training based on the changing needs of the hospitality and tourism sector.

Food and Beverage Council Cebu Chapter vice president Michel Angelo Tablon said the festival is open to students from Cebu and other provinces.

Delegates from Bohol, Leyte, and Mindanao have already registered, reflecting Cebu’s growing role as a venue for hospitality and tourism competitions outside Metro Manila.

Organizers said the festival will recognize gold, silver, and bronze winners, as well as an overall champion school.

They said the awards are intended to recognize outstanding individual performances and overall school achievement.

The organizers are still evaluating whether cash prizes will be included, stressing that the festival is not being organized primarily for profit.

They said the event is heavily dependent on sponsors and industry partners, several of which have already committed support.

Student participants will also be charged a minimal training fee of less than P100 per day.

Malaca said the fee will cover training sessions, certificates, and other learning opportunities, emphasizing that the amount is deliberately kept low to make the program accessible to students.

“We really want to focus on the students,” he said.

Aside from the competitions, the festival will feature industry booths, product tastings, games, and other activities where students can interact with food, beverage, hotel, and tourism brands.

The event will be held in a mall and will be open to the public, but seating inside the theater-style venue will prioritize students. The public may watch and support the contestants from designated areas.

Activities will be spread across the mall, including the third floor, to accommodate participants, industry partners, and spectators.

Organizers said the festival will be held every other year as part of a continuing effort to develop Cebu’s hospitality workforce.

Malaca pointed to the rapid growth of Cebu’s hospitality sector, noting the increasing number of hotels and tourism establishments and the corresponding demand for skilled workers.

“Cebu is booming. There’s a lot of new hotels. We need more managers. We need more supervisors. We need more staff. So that’s why we’re doing it for the future of hospitality,” he said.

For the organizers, the festival is more than a competition. It is intended to become a continuing platform for training, mentorship, industry exposure, and collaboration between schools and hospitality businesses. — (FREEMAN)