The chefs developed, created and cooked ‘first class’ menus for the Craft Guild of Chefs Business Partners lunch, the Learning Curve Charity Ball and an industry awards event.
At each event, and on social media, the teams received great applause and praise for their dishes from a range of industry professionals and peers.
Steve Oram, who heads up the CH&CO Chefs Academy, said: “All of the apprentices volunteered for these events and for many of them, taking part meant being away from home for the first time as well as pushing the boundaries of their comfort zones.
“They all remained professional throughout and asked for help when needed. I am very proud of them all and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing with a team of eager apprentice chefs all wanting to know when the next event is.”
Over the course of the three events, the apprentice chefs catered for 795 covers and produced a ‘delicious’ range of vegan, vegetarian, traditional and, for the Learning Curve’s Charity Ball, 1920s/30s Peaky-Blinders-themed dishes.
Dishes across the events included: layered saffron potato and seaweed cake, black garlic vegan mayonnaise and pickled seaweed; Telford beef, confit oxtail, swede and London honey textures with a Guinness jus and candied hazel nut and brandy mousse with a praline and cherry compote, to name just a few.