February 2 2012
Marriott serves up inspiring idea to support youth training
02/02/2012 – Tackling youth unemployment by dining at a Marriott hotel has made the process of charitable giving extremely appetising to diners across Europe. For every lunch or dinner purchased during February the hotel chain will donate €1 to SOS Youth Programmes.
A culture of excellence
As a prelude to the initiative some of Germany’s top culinary critics assembled at the Rossi restaurant in Berlin’s SOS Vocational Training Centre where they judged a cooking competition between the centre's aspiring chefs and a team from the nearby Berlin Marriott Hotel. At the launch of You Eat, We Give, the 26 SOS Youth Programme participants astounded their peers when they served up a three-course meal that showcased the quality of training they receive.
“All dishes were avant-garde elaborately created creations, a culinary performance of the highest standard; simply great” is how the sumptuous meals were described by the judges.
The panel was made up of the Berlin's most renowned food experts and purveyors of fine food: Dietmar Bartocha of quality wholesaler Rungis, Karin Jürgens from Weihe - the experts in fruit and vegetables - and Matthias Rechel of Frische Paradies. With 304 points, the SOS trainees won the competition by the slightest of margins on a day when everyone was a winner.
The promotion is part of Marriott’s Europe-wide “World of Opportunity” initiative, which will help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds reach their full potential by providing life skills and vocational opportunities. Marriott International has enlisted more than 280 hotels across Europe to fundraise, facilitate in-kind donations, and volunteer with two charitable partners: The Prince’s Trust Fairbridge programme in the United Kingdom and SOS Children’s Villages in continental Europe.
A partnership recipe for success
SOS Children’s Villages supports over 2.2 million individuals across the globe. 17,500 of them are children who have been provided with a loving home from an early age and are today on the verge of adulthood.
By partnering with SOS Children’s Villages Marriott International is helping to ensure that SOS Youth Programmes will prosper and continue to provide training that is customised to meet the individual’s specific needs. Operating in over 3,700 resorts in 72 countries and regions – Marriott International one of the world’s leading hotel groups – is serving a recipe for success for young people who deserve a good start in life.