EXHIBIT HIGH SENSE OF PROFESSIONALISM ... (Page 20)

Story: Vincent Adedze, Tamale

THE Northern Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), Mr William Ayambire, has entreated food vendors, including traditional caterers in the Tamale metropolis, to exhibit a high sense of professionalism and maintain standards in the preparation of food.
He said that would enable them to contribute meaningfully to the successful hosting of the Ghana 2008 African Nations Cup tournament in the Tamale metropolis.
Mr Ayambire further urged the food vendors to provide visitors with prompt services and to be customer-friendly, stressing that such a measure would ultimately boost their sales and subsequently their incomes.
Mr Ayambire made the call at a day’s training workshop on enhancing quality food service delivery during the tournament.
The workshop, organised by the GTB in collaboration with Cook Art Ghana, a catering services establishment, was attended by 200 participants comprising food vendors, including wayside food sellers, fast food joint operators, and chop bar and drinking bar operators.
The participants were taken through topics such as food preparation, hygiene, maintenance and management of facilities as well as customer care.
According to Mr Ayambire, food vendors had a major role to play in the tournament, since the event was a great one.
He stated that the event was more about tourism than football, adding, “We must help to expose the cultural tourism aspect of the region.”
He further implored the participants to observe sound personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness, adding, “The success of this tournament lies on you.
“You are competitors and not enemies so you must try as much as possible to avoid petty jealousies and envy; we must all join hands to make the tournament a memorable one for the visitors,” the regional manager stressed.
The National Co-ordinator of Cook Art Ghana, Mrs Bella Ahu, noted that the event “provides you the opportunity to make more money and so you must avoid using abusive language, maintain quality and offer your customers affordable prices”.
A trainer in food production and hygiene of Cook Art, Ms Jemima Mattey, took the participants through street food industry and entreated them to package their food items properly to increase their sales.