EU-certified school in Padua will train street food professionals

The very first training course enabling students to qualify as Street Food Specialists has been launched in Veneto by the Padua-based social cooperative Dieffe Accademia delle Professioni, a training body that accommodates 2,600 students a year, from Veneto and Emilia Romagna.

Not only street sellers

Though Italy has seen an exponential increase in itinerant food businesses (+13% in 2016, according to Coldiretti), the Padua-based school “not merely addresses these sort of businesses, but means to work on a new concept of non-itinerant ‘street’ catering,” says president Federico Pendin.

The course is aimed at those wishing to build a professional future for themselves in the world of street food, as well as those who are already working in the sector and seek a training program enhancing their skills.

There was a precedent in Emilia, but the qualification in that case was “catering operator,” whereas in this case, the professional profile is more clearly defined – which may be the reason no less than 500 requests for information have already been submitted; not least because becoming a food trucker requires skills and a certain amount of red tape.

The professional qualification of Street Food Specialist awarded (with a document in four languages) is recognized on a European level and comprises a license for serving and selling food and beverages in the Veneto region.

The course – starting in January – consists of a practical program enabling students to prepare high-quality takeaway products, with the support of new-generation techniques and professional equipment. Total duration is 600 hours overall, 324 of which in the classroom and in workshops and 276 hours as internships, flanking established professionals in the sector.

The program includes lessons in refreshments and marketing, street food history and culture, and market sector analysis; this will be followed by a full-immersion program in Italian regional specialties from north to south, then an exploration of culinary experiences and tastes in Europe, the US, Mexico and South America, as well as the Middle East, North Africa, India and the Far East. It is not merely a question of knowing the preparation and recipes: the course also provides for a specific in-depth analysis of the cultural and agri-food context in the individual countries.

Many potential students seem particularly interested in the international scenario, since the example of Italian cuisine has always been greatly admired overseas, so that Italian specialties at accessible prices are inevitably in ever greater demand. This Italian training course, in fact, might inspire a new “brain drain” from the kitchen... A “pan drain,” as it were.