BaxterStorey has now qualified 179 chefs through its Academy; this year’s students were awarded for achieving Culinary Arts, Chef Diploma and Chef Certificate qualifications.
More than 200 people attended the graduation ceremony, including guest speaker, Michelin-starred Scottish chef and restaurateur Alan Murchison and BaxterStorey’s Signature Chef John Campbell, who has helped guide the graduates through their training.
BaxterStorey co-chief executive Noel Mahony, said: “The quality of the people we employ is key to our success so it’s vital that we provide them with the best training and development opportunities.
“BaxterStorey’s Chef Academy has continued to go from strength and strength and provides a great platform for our chefs who are passionate about improving their skills.
“The programme equips them with the high levels of technical skills they need for long-term career progression and ultimately helps to raise the standard within the industry.
“The graduation ceremony is great way to acknowledge the young, fresh talent we are proud to have at BaxterStorey and celebrate our chefs’ commitment to creating innovative menus with the freshest, locally sourced produce.”
The training courses offer learning opportunities from visiting food markets, fisheries and suppliers to understanding the financial and management aspects of being a chef.
Trainee chefs also get the chance to put their skills into practice with a week's tuition with one of BaxterStorey’s Signature Chefs – John Campbell, Nigel Haworth, Mark Hix and Tom Kitchin.
At the graduation ceremony, individual chefs were praised for their outstanding achievement in four categories. Jane John based at E.ON and Gary Hughes based at law firm Simmons & Simmons were the joint winners of the ‘Best Trainer’ award whilst Syngenta-based Chef, Holly Stairs, collected the award for ‘Most Accomplished Trainer’.
The ‘Best in Class’ category was won by three chefs; Jonathan Herbert at Syngenta in Bracknell; Roy Winton at Quintiles and Chris Harris at the Computer Science Corporation. Stephen Leek, at E.ON, collected the ‘Spirit of the Academy’ award.