KITCHENER, Ont. — During a special event held February 19, a culinary-skills lab at Conestoga College was named in recognition of Flanagan Foodservice for its generous support of the recent expansion and re-development project at the John W. Tibbits campus in Waterloo, Ont.
Designed to inspire the students of Conestoga, the lab includes state-of-the-art equipment that will allow future chefs to practice and refine the culinary techniques that will help them shape Canada’s food industry.
“We’re very grateful for our partnership with Flanagan Foodservice,” says Conestoga president John Tibbits. “For more than 20 years, the company has supported scholarships and awards for Conestoga
students and strengthened our programs through involvement in our advisory committees and through the provision of co-op opportunities.”
More recently, Flanagan provided a donation to support the expansion of the Waterloo campus. The re-development project has provided increased capacity for education and training programs to serve the tourism sector’s urgent human-resource needs, offers new opportunities for product development and testing and supports development of local-food culture through demonstration kitchens and part-time courses for the broader community. The campus also features an expanded student-run restaurant, which is open to the public.
“The impact of this organization on our community and on our family is significant,” says Dan Flanagan, CEO, Flanagan Foodservice. “On behalf of our employees and our family, we’re grateful for the opportunity to be part of this transformative journey at Conestoga.”
During the event, Akshay Anand, an international student from India enrolled in the Culinary Management (co-op) two-year diploma program, expressed his gratitude for the “amazing change” the college, its facilities and its faculty have made in his life through the development of skills and knowledge that will support him in his culinary career. He has encouraged his brother to join him in Canada so that he can have a similar experience at Conestoga.
