NEW YORK, New York – The
Cayman Islands delegation took the opportunity whilst in New York on
Wednesday to visit the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

The CIA is the premier culinary
college in the United States with currently more than 3,200 students
representing every state and more than 40 countries enrolled in
masters, bachelors, and associate degree programs.

Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin said
“I was delighted to meet with Tim Ryan, President of the Institute
along with the Provost, Chef Mark Erickson. We had the opportunity
to talk about the prospects of possibly establishing a campus in the
Cayman Islands. They have four campuses already established outside
of New York including one in Singapore. We believe that there is an
opportunity to compliment the role that the Cayman Islands is now
playing as the culinary capital of the Caribbean by having one of the
premier culinary institutes in the world with a campus in Cayman.

Mr. McLaughlin continued “Not only
will this increase the image of Cayman and compliment our tourism
product, but will also create opportunities for Caymanians to attend
this facility, as well as the opportunity to attract students from
all over the world, but in particular from the Caribbean and Latin
America.”

The Premier invited President Tim
Ryan and his team to visit Cayman and see for themselves the
opportunities that exist and to explore collaboration between the
Cayman Islands and CIA. At the meeting Mr Ryan commented that he was
aware of Cayman’s leading place in the Caribbean as a preeminent
tourist destination with many options for fine dining and quality
food. He was also familiar with the Cayman Cookout event and the
many world class chefs who took part in it, including graduates and
friends of the Institute. He commented that he was looking forward to
having follow up meetings in the Cayman Islands and seeing what may
be possible.

The Cayman delegation were also
provided with a tour of the Campus. Also attending the tour and
meeting were Dan Scott, Cayman Islands Education Council Chairman,
Attorney General the Hon Samuel Bulgin, Eric Bush, Chief Officer of
the Ministry of International Trade, Investment, Aviation and
Maritime Affairs, and Roy Tatum, Head of the Office of the Premier.