While pubs sit at the heart of communities, it’s people at the heart of pubs and that is why Young’s and Geronimo have launched The Chef Academy.
The new Academy in Wandsworth offers structured training for in-house talent to achieve higher kitchen positions whilst gaining either an NVQ Level 2 professional cookery or NVQ Level 3 in hospitality management. Trainees are also given the skills to manage the back of house in a supervisory capability.
Prospective candidates go through a rigorous interview and cook-off to earn their spot in the Academy and train under the guidance of Chris Knights (Executive Chef, Young’s) and Jono Jenkins (Director of Food, Geronimo).
Patrick Dardis, retail director said: “We are committed to re-investing in our chefs at a time of skilled shortages in the industry. The Academy gives our chefs the support and knowledge to allow them to showcase their creativity and innovation back in their respective kitchens, ensuring our menus are as individual as our pubs and they continue to evolve”.
20 candidates are currently taking part in the Level two (intermediate) and 24 are undertaking the Level three (advanced). A third tier will be introduced in 2016.
Young’s also offers a number of other training and empowerment initiatives for staff including:
Kitchen Diary – a year’s worth of training run by the Chris Knights and his developments chefs, is open to all employees covering masterclasses in butchery, fishmongery, bread baking and patisserie, food hygiene refresher courses and BOH financial management.
Vegucation – bringing unusual and lesser discovered ingredients to the fore each month and challenging chefs to use and interpret ingredients in their own style on their respective menus.
Recognition Scheme – a quarterly recognition scheme organised by and run by a team of 16 chefs. Rewards include masterclasses with chefs and restaurateurs – most recently Mark Sargent – as well as day trips and team-building fun courses.
Chef Forums – quarterly inspiration forums where all of the chefs within a particular area get together and take inspirational food trips or meet suppliers and producers to develop menus and gain exposure to the best ingredients.