Guyana is seeking to turn its rich culinary heritage into a stronger engine for entrepreneurship, employment and tourism with the opening of the Roots and Flavours Culinary Arts Centre at the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) at Cove and John, East Coast Demerara.
The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security officially commissioned the centre on Friday, creating a dedicated space for culinary training designed to help participants—particularly women—develop practical skills, build businesses and achieve greater financial independence.
The initiative is the vision of Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud, who stressed that the centre was established with ambitions extending well beyond conventional vocational training.
“The Roots and Flavour Culinary Arts Centre is not just another centre. We have excellent centres across Guyana; it’s the newest kid on the block, but it’s the newest kid on the block with a purpose,” Persaud said at the commissioning ceremony.
The facility was constructed by the Ministry with support from the Chinese Embassy of Guyana, the United Nations and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Caribbean.
Its central objective is to marry Guyana’s culinary traditions with economic opportunity—preserving authentic flavours while equipping participants to turn those traditions into commercially viable products and services.
Persaud said the name Roots and Flavours captures the cultural history behind Guyana’s food.
“Roots speak to the rich heritage of Guyana, bringing together cultures that span continents, and with those cultures, we would have become the melting pot for some of the best food in this part of the world.”
The Minister sees particular potential in using Guyanese cuisine to strengthen the country’s tourism product.
As Guyana’s tourism and hospitality sectors expand, local cuisine can provide visitors with an experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Persaud said Guyanese food already has an international following and should be developed into a more significant economic asset.
“Guyanese food is known everywhere. Once people have a taste of our food, they come back for it, and they take it with them overseas. So, the vision behind this is to take the flavours of our heritage and our culture…and to make sure that we not only put them on every table and take them beyond the borders of this country, but to also develop a thriving street food industry,” she said.
The centre will work with some of Guyana’s leading chefs and cooks, while placing emphasis on preserving the authentic flavours and cooking traditions found in Guyanese homes.
The training will also extend beyond food preparation. Participants are expected to receive exposure to beverage preparation and international cuisine, supported by partnerships aimed at broadening their culinary knowledge and market opportunities.
The initiative comes as the Government promotes skills development and entrepreneurship as tools for economic empowerment. The centre forms part of the Ministry’s continued investment in those areas, particularly through its Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme.
For participants, the goal is to move beyond learning how to cook and toward learning how to make a living from those skills.
That could include catering, food production, restaurants, street-food businesses and other culinary ventures capable of creating income and employment.
The Ministry’s broader ambition is to build an industry around a resource Guyana already possesses in abundance—its food traditions.
Persaud described the commissioning as the beginning of something she believes can develop into a lasting industry.
The challenge now will be turning the centre’s vision into businesses capable of surviving, expanding and reaching markets outside Guyana.
If successful, Roots and Flavours could help transform Guyanese food from a treasured part of the country’s cultural identity into a more powerful export, tourism attraction and source of economic independence.
