Towards an Understanding of Erasmus Culinary Internship

Abstract

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology's involvement in international mobility for culinary internships has experienced exponential growth over the past 5 years with the assistance of European Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus funding for European placements. The main thrust behind the European Commission funding ventures for mobility (experiential learning) is to enhance students' cultural awareness, cultivate their language skills, and develop their professionalism in their fields of study. It is generally accepted that experiential learning in the workplace provides many learning opportunities for culinary students. In spite of the acceptance that experiential learning is a “good thing,” students in the field of culinary arts have never been the subject of any research to establish the benefits of experiential learning through culinary international internships. This article starts to address the abyss in knowledge by reviewing the European Commission's Mobility Action Plan as a process of developing Europe's education and training strategy. It examines the Lisbon Agenda and various reports such as the Copenhagen declaration and the Nice Council report (EU Commission, 2004b) to develop an understanding of the mechanisms driving culinary internships in the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology.