The 16 staff members chosen for it were referred by their managers as part of development and succession planning to prepare those who want to ‘go further’ in their careers with the council.
Edinburgh Catering Services operates across 100 schools and various commercial buildings including the capital’s City Chambers. It employs 600 staff in the city delivering more than 20,000 meals daily to schools, nurseries, lunch clubs and office buildings – making it the largest catering operation in the capital. All meals are produced from scratch every day, using local producers and fresh produce.
Christopher Ross, senior operations manager at City of Edinburgh Council, and the current chair of ASSIST FM, said: “As the hospitality sector continues to be an increasingly difficult industry to fill vacancies, Edinburgh Council Catering Services have had to re-think the way it recruits and develops colleagues. That’s why this year we are launching our Cooking School to train existing colleagues over a 12-week period.
“The school will give candidates the skills and experience to take a promoted post within the council. The school is designed to fit in with the catering services business, with a focus on school menus and recipes, along with the theory surrounding nutrition and menu balance. Over the course colleagues will take part in in-depth skills training such as knife skills, sauce cookery and bakery.
“Hand in hand with these practical elements are visits to suppliers to gain an understanding on where our food comes from, engagement with partners such as Food for Life, looking at seasonality and core skills such as food hygiene and health and safety. The trainees have thoroughly enjoyed the process so far and we have some real future stars.”
Once the first course finishes in June, interviews will begin to select the next batch of 16 catering staff, who will start a fresh course in August. To mark their graduation Chris said the trainees will cook their favourite recipes for the leadership team, to be followed by a presentation ceremony in which they will receive their certificates and vouchers.