The Lancaster London embarked on a nationwide hunt to find junior chefs to join its Kitchen Apprenticeship Programme. The innovative scheme was advertised on the National Apprenticeship website.
On 1 August 2011, the hotel invited 11 hopeful candidates, chosen from a host of applications, to attend a five day workshop. The candidates received training throughout the week in areas such as basic knife skills, food presentation and learning to cook specific dishes.
They were judged against a list of criteria including: Attitude and Behaviour, Team Work, Identifying Flavours, Handling Feedback, Health & Safety, and Technical Skills. The final test on the fifth day saw the candidates giving an individual twist to one of the dishes they had been taught in order to demonstrate how much they had learnt.
Four successful candidates, aged 16-28, were selected to join the two year Kitchen Apprenticeship Programme. Executive Chef, Eibhear Coyle, who dreamed up this scheme, says: “Apprentices are the future and lifeblood of the kitchens of the future, and I am passionate about giving back to the industry. Our selected and future candidates can expect a continuous solid teaching in – great cooking, appropriate professional behaviours & a sense of pride in the craft that I love.”
The entire initiative has been a first for the Lancaster London. The reason behind this creative approach to recruitment was the increasing difficulty in finding chefs of a certain level, and a preference of the hotel to develop its own chefs from the ground up. Due to the success of the programme, the Lancaster London is already planning to repeat it in the future.
The kitchens at the Lancaster London are undergoing a major £6 million pound refurbishment.
The new apprentices will be working with state-of-the-art equipment, including 10 new MKN twenty grid combi ovens that can be digitally monitored, Elro bulk hot production units with hydraulic lifting capabilities, and specialist vegetable preparation equipment.
The kitchens have also been designed to maximize green practices. For example, the dishwashers will have integral heat exchanger pumps, which will reheat the water coming into the machine to save energy.
Lancaster London, Lancaster Terrace, London W2 2TY
020 7262 6737 or visit www.lancasterlondon.com