Being chair of FCSI Asia Pacific Division is a unique role that carries substantial responsibilities. I am looking forward to helping our profession and our association to grow in both knowledge and wider recognition. I will do whatever I can to assist our industry and certainly relish the challenge.
It is our intention to grow our membership at the associate and affiliate levels. These are the crucial areas where we (as a collective group) can encourage our colleagues and workmates to also be involved, to learn, to be exposed to people with tremendous background and knowledge. These will form the bedrock of our next generation of new professional members.
We seek to have the FCSI professional membership brand strengthened by encouraging companies to insist on using professional FCSI members in food and beverage design and operational management projects.
Opportunity knocks
The Asia Pacific region is a dynamic and quickly growing region. We are faced with challenges, yet with these challenges, we are equally presented with as many opportunities.
Our languages may divide us, but our cultures unite us. Through food, and by logical extension food and beverage design, we really do help the larger world to come together over good meals. All good food needs great kitchens. A well-designed kitchen is the foundation of every single successful hospitality establishment. Never under estimate the impact we are quietly making in our work
Our largest challenges we face in my opinion are the very things that make us successful, and that is time. We are all to one degree or another very busy in what we do.
In our region, distance is a problem, yet we are all contained within a reasonably similar time zone that spans no more than 4-6 hours.
Our largest challenges are to ensure we always remain at the leading edge of all developments. We are leaders, not followers. It is our collective responsibility to be well versed on technology, environmental impacts, cost efficiencies and operational matters relating to our industry.
We must continuously strive to learn, and in turn, impart this knowledge to our peers, to our customers and to our colleagues. If we can devote some time – even just a little, we help each other and our industry grows in every way.
John Thomas FCSI
