Yellowknife (Feb 08/06) - Take a tablespoon of butter and melt it in a pan with brown sugar.

Next, add freshly quartered peaches and a splash of mango juice and let simmer over medium heat. Then, add a dash of Grand Marnier and watch the flames light up the cooking area.

Recent high school graduate Thomas McOuat, 18, shows off skills he learned at the Culinary Skills Club. He is doing his apprenticeship at the Oldtown Landing. - Jessica Gray/NNSL photo

Finally, top it with a dollop ice cream and you have a recipe for success at the Culinary Skills Club demonstration at St. Patrick high school on Monday. The club, consisting of high school students, helped kick off Apprenticeship Week with a demonstration of their skills.

"We meet once a week for about three hours and focus on anything from desserts to three-course meals or appetizers," said apprentice chef Thomas McOuat.

A recent graduate, McOuat, 18, has been coming to the Culinary Skills Club, for more than three years. He's been interested in cooking since he was 12 years old, and the club is a great way to practise his craft.

"I love to cook for others."

There are many different skills clubs in the Yellowknife and Fort Smith areas. High school students from both boards can pay $20 per year to receive extra curricular training in graphic design, carpentry, hair styling and welding. Fort Smith students can also join a fashion design club. The clubs are organized and managed by Skills Canada. The clubs are usually run by teachers or people within the industry, said Sylvie LeFort, Skills Canada program co-ordinator.

"This is another way to promote skilled trades."

The clubs also prepare students to participate in the territorial skills competition held April 20.

Those who win first place have an opportunity to go to the national competition to be held in Halifax, May 24-26. Members who place first at the national level can then go on to the world skills competition.

Chris Fournier from Yellowknife placed first in the website design skill in the 2005 world skills competition in Helsinki, Finland. Last year's national competition was held in Edmonton with 110 Northwest Territories club members attending.

McOuat attended the national competition last year and placed eighth out of 10 competitors from around the country. He said he hopes to win territorials again and place better nationally.

His skills coach, journeyman chef Mark Plouffe, said it's difficult for kids in the North to get the training they need to compete.

"We don't have the infrastructure here to train these kids in lots of skills, they have to work even harder."

He thinks the skills clubs are great because there is a shortage of chefs in Yellowknife, and trades people in general. The skills clubs are allotted $1,500 each from Skills Canada.

The budget to run the clubs and the NWT Skills Canada organization is 20 per cent from the territorial government, 60 to 70 per cent from Service Canada, and the rest from private and corporate sponsorship.