The Chef’s Academy initiative is in its fourth year and aims to give employees that have displayed a passion for food preparation the chance to become fully-qualified chefs within the Catermasters business. A total of 17 chefs have graduated from the academy to date and the company has invested in excess of £100,000 in the programme.
This year’s students are Mike Balogun, Gesiane Gouveia, Greg Kiss, Gemma McKillan, Sarah Mills and Claire Smith. Catermasters’ senior chefs, Clive Jones and Ryan Holmes, will tutor the group and teach them all of the skills that are relevant and important in today’s kitchen environment. The group will also work towards achieving the Level 2 NVQ in Professional Catering qualification.
Ryan Holmes said: “This year’s group is extremely keen and hungry for success and that’s exactly what Clive and I want to see. They’re going to be pushed hard and taken out of their comfort zone in the kitchen but this is a great opportunity for them and they’re going to learn a lot that will stand them in good stead for their future careers.”
The Chef’s Academy group will kick off its formal training early next month at Brakes in London, where they will be taught knife skills and basic cuts of vegetables.