Empowering future chefs and baristas in Latin America

The food and beverage industry faces unprecedented challenges in attracting and retaining the next generation of chefs and baristas.

Despite over a quarter of employed people aged 16-24 in the United States working in the hospitality and leisure industry last year, the largest employer of youth – the sector is encountering soaring skilled staff shortages, high employee turnover and a lack of culinary skills needed to fill vacancies. 

Empowering chefs and baristas of tomorrow with expertise and education is one inspiring way that Nestlé Professional is helping to drive the industry and cultivate their careers.

Upskilling chefs with YOCUTA

The YOuth CUlinary TAlents program, YOCUTA, launched in Latin America in 2015, was created to upskill young chefs aged 16-30 with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed and pursue their dreams in the food service sector. 

It offers comprehensive culinary training, such as theoretical and practical workshops, hands-on sessions with top chefs, CV writing and interview coaching.

Ten years on, the program has been rolled out to 18 markets, including most recently Mexico, Central America, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, training thousands of chefs. Last year alone, over 2,600 young chefs graduated, of which many have successfully joined the food service workforce.

YOCUTA is continuing to foster talented budding chefs worldwide, like Felipe Cunha Chavez in Brazil, who runs an online business alongside his full time kitchen assistant job at a 5* hotel.

The program is part of Nestlé Needs YOUth,which aims to help ten million young people worldwide access economic opportunities by 2030 through skills, career and entrepreneurship training. It features three pillars to support young chefs at every stage of their journey.

1. Employed youth
   This introduces aspiring chefs to careers in food service by reinforcing their network and interview skills. In collaboration with trusted partners, it supports young professionals with the creation of their CV, interview skills training and features sessions on personal nutrition. 

2. Skilled food service professionals
   Using Nestlé Professional know-how with Chef2Chef, this pillar is aimed at young food service professionals, and offers a culinary certification with hygiene, safety and practical skills training to up-skill their qualifications. 

3. Engaged and mindful chefs
   Designed for experienced industry professionals, this pillar works with credible industry partners to offer advanced culinary skills training and career coaching to shape the next generation of chefs.

Coffee foundation

Budding baristas in Latin America also have the opportunity to excel their career in Nestlé Professional’s Nestlé Jóvenes Baristas initiative.

Introduced in 2021 in Colombia, the program provides virtual learning modules and hands-on barista training, career guidance and a diploma to launch young people into the next phase of their coffee career. 

It includes modules, from mastering coffee quality to entrepreneurship and employability. In some countries, the initiative has been expanded to include additional activities, such as an immersive 360° virtual reality tour of a coffee plantation, to a visit to a Nescafé coffee plant.

Over the last few years, the comprehensive coffee training program has also been rolled out throughout Latin American countries.

Last year alone, over 3,000 students successfully graduated in both YOCUTA and Nestlé Young Baristas programs and nearly 550 of them secured employment in the food service and beverage solutions workforce in the region.