Second group from ‘Fitir Hilton Academy’ graduates |24 April 2023

The graduates in a souvenir photograph with guests

Naomi Payet and Samuel Lespoir are the outstanding performers in the second cohort who recently completed the ‘Fitir Hilton Academy’ after a rigorous four-month training, which started in October last year.

The two were among a group of 11 who graduated last Friday in a ceremony at the Labriz Gastrolounge, in Bel Ombre after completing their training in culinary arts and food and beverage (F&B), which started at Hilton Labriz Silhouette Resort and Spa and took them to all the other Hilton branches in the country. 

Speaking to the local media, both Naomi and Samuel, who did culinary and F&B respectively, described it as a once in a lifetime experience. Coincidentally, they had both done their studies at the Seychelles Business Studies Academy, before deciding to venture into other things.

For 21-year-old Naomi, who had always been passionate about culinary arts, her interest was piqued as soon as she saw the training being advertised on Instagram.

She described the four months as a “fantastic experience”, where she had learned a lot about the kitchen.

Naomi, who said the experience also changed her personality and helped her to grow, is advising young people to get out of their comfort zone and do what they are passionate about.

“I used to be a shy person and I have grown so much in the four months; I would definitely encourage everyone to join the academy,” she said.

For 19-year-old Samuel, he wanted to try something more adventurous after his studies at SBSA, where he did human resource management and saw the F&B training as the ideal opportunity.

“When I joined I had zero experience in the hotel industry, and I have learned everything with ‘Fitir Hilton Academy’,” he said.

Among the prizes, the two will be flying to the Maldives for a three-month internship with one of Hilton’s hotels.

Although Naomi is yet to decide her future plans after Maldives, Samuel is considering furthering his training as a sommelier or in bartending, which he started at the academy.

Other than outstanding performance, Samuel and Naomi were among three students, alongside Eric Hoareau, who passed a wine course, termed the ‘Wine & Spirit Education Trust’ or WSET.

The assistant human resources & development manager at Hilton Labriz Silhouette Resort and Spa, Raphaella Bouchereau, who initiated the academy last year, said the second cohort was a very good team, and the 11 participants were passionate about what they wanted to do.

She said during the past four months, their training entailed online sessions, behavioural sessions, theoretical and the most-anticipated on-the-job training where they were able to showcase their true talents.

“This group made me absolutely proud because they were truly talented. We had an event at Labriz early on in the training, where  I had general managers coming up to me,  and already handpicking who among the lot they wanted at their hotels, which was a clear indication that this group was an amazing one,” said Ms Bouchereau.

When addressing the participants, Andre Borg, the general manager of Hilton Seychelles, who also started his career in F&B, highlighted the many opportunities brought about by this area in hospitality and why “serving was a noble profession”.

Speaking on behalf of the tourism department, the director general for destination planning and development, Paul Lebon, said it was always a pleasure to see young people joining an exciting industry, and thanked Hilton for its continued engagement to ensure the country had qualified and confident people in the sector.

‘Fitir Hilton Academy’, which is a new training facility located at the Hilton Labriz Silhouette Resort and Spa opened its doors in May last year with its first cohort of 12 students. It presently has three groups of trainees; the first group of five started two months ago, followed by the fourth cohort last month and the fifth group, that was introduced at last Friday’s graduation ceremony.

Patsy Canaya

Photos by Joena Meme