De Vere Venues have launched an all new apprenticeship scheme, ‘Cooking with Verve’, which will see 10 aspiring chefs receive an accredited Level 2 NVQ Diploma Professional Cookery qualification as a result of the 12 month programme.
The chef development programme welcomed its first wave of students at the end of 2014, providing 10 talented junior chefs a place on the scheme. Chefs were recruited from both within the business and externally. Over the course of the scheme, and as a member of a venue based kitchen team, apprentices will receive a combination of practical training and workbook based learning – completing ten modules in total, as well as taking part in a series of skills based masterclasses led by Estelle Ellis, Learning & Development Manager, supported by Head Chef’s, covering specialist subjects such as shellfish and bakery.
The training programme will culminate in a professional qualification and pave the way for each student to forge a successful career within the hospitality industry.
Each eager participant will be paired with a ‘Lifetime Training Buddy’ recruited internally from within the De Vere Venues catering team, on hand to support each apprentice in growing their skills, knowledge and confidence, as well as offering support, guidance and encouragement during the programme.
Nurturing and growing junior chefs
Jo Monk, HR Director at De Vere Venues comments; ‘’De Vere Venues have long been fanatical about food, having identified many years ago that the standard of F&B across the meetings and events industry can be hit and miss to say the least. With so many venues therefore striving to recruit and retain the best young talent, we identified a need to nurture and grow our junior chefs from grass-roots level, offering on-the-job, skills based learning opportunities that will provide them with a tangible qualification and the confidence and skill-set to further their career within our business, whilst of course, allowing us to extend our workforce with truly home-grown talent, which we have had so much success in through other areas of the business including operations and sales.’’
She adds; ‘’Programmes such as Masterchef: The Professionals have seen a real following across the UK and we need to harness that interest in food service and delivery through the employment market ,this year we welcomed ten apprentices onto the scheme. I’m confident that by the end of 2015, that figure will have more than doubled.’’
Apprentices will be located at De Vere Venues nationwide, for more information on the programme please contact Estelle Ellis, Learning & Development Manager via email: eellis@deverevenues.co.uk SL5 0QE