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Britain's
chefs are being urged to "grow their own" in a bid to
tackle the skills crunch facing the nation's hospitality industry.
More than 20 per cent of applicants for chef posts lack the required
skills and experience needed for a kitchen.
Staff
turnover is estimated to be costing the industry a staggering
£886 million a year and there have even been warnings that the
failure to entice new, able recruits could harm London's hosting of
the 2012 Olympic Games.
Now a major
drive to raise skills and set benchmarks for the whole industry is
gaining ground - with chefs in the workplace taking the lead role.
High-profile companies across the UK are tackling the problem using
the Applied Ability Awards - practical awards for professional chefs,
designed and delivered by chefs.
Organisations
including Malmaison, Hotel Du Vin and De Vere Luxury Hotels, have
taken the view that the only way to raise standards and close the
worrying skills gap is to "grow their own" talent - and it
is an approach that is starting to reap benefits in the kitchen and
in the business.
The Applied
Ability Awards - also known as Triple A - combines on-the-job
mentorship with a final, independent practical exam and is a return
to some of the disciplines and attitudes of old-style apprenticeships
that served the industry so well in the past.
The Triple
A's development has been championed by top chefs such as its founder
Prue Leith, who says," I'm delighted to see the Triple A
gathering momentum because it's all about chefs taking charge and
putting their own house in order. And it's no surprise to me that a
number of hugely successful hotel brands are leading the way because
the Triple A isn't a magic bullet - it's a purpose-built tool for
those with the wit and gumption to get ahead."
The scheme is
now managed by the British Food Trust on behalf of a circle of chefs
representing the professional associations of the UK and Ireland.
More information can be found at www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk
The Academy
of Culinary Arts, Association Culinaire Francaise, British Culinary
Federation, Craft Guild of Chefs, Federation of Scottish Chefs,
Masterchefs of Great Britain, the Panel of Chefs Ireland and the
Welsh Culinary Association have all joined forces to oversee delivery
of the Triple A. The result is a professional qualification for chefs
designed and delivered by the industry for the industry.
Scott Antony
of the British Food Trust says: "We're now into the second
year of a set-up programme supported by the Edge Foundation and
recently saw the 100th Award achieved against an overall pass rate of
66%. We've also had our first candidate through at both levels,
foundation and advanced, and he has now become a Triple A mentor himself."
Growing
numbers of companies see Triple A as an investment in the future -
training staff to the standard they require, creating a structure for
internal improvement and career development and tackling the skills
and retention shortage that could threaten future growth and profits.
As well as
"growing its own chefs" the industry is also setting
benchmarks that are defining, developing and promoting craft skills.
As a
result of the recent progress, People 1st, the body responsible for
the industry's skills development, is now supporting the Triple A
becoming an accredited qualification for the workplace.
Sean Wheeler,
Group Director of People Development at Malmaison & Hotel du Vin,
which has more than 20 establishments across the UK, is delighted his
company adopted Triple A for its in-house training and with the
benefits it is now seeing.
He says: "Our
group was growing apace and we realised that we wanted to grow our
chefs, attract talent to the business and retain them.
"We
looked at what was out there and when we came across Triple A we
liked what we saw.
"It
is very practical and is designed for chefs by chefs. It hit all the
right buttons. It is on the job, relevant and is going back to the
apprenticeship approach.
"We
also liked the fact that there was an end result in terms of the
exams. "There's a lot of back to basics about it, which was also
important and it has been really helpful in encouraging our head
chefs to support and grow their people.
"I'd
thoroughly recommend it to other groups developing like ourselves,
they will really benefit from it."
Keith
Shearer, Group Executive Chef for De Vere Luxury Hotels is convinced
of the benefits of Triple A and is working at introducing it into all
12 of De Vere's establishments.
He says
simply: "Training and development in De Vere hotels is not a
cost, it is an investment in the future success of our kitchen
culture! I believe the single most important reason why we lose staff
is through not developing our chefs and meeting their career expectations.
"Because
of de-skilling and the fact there are fewer people you can end up
promoting someone because you are frightened of losing them, rather
than because they have earned the right for that position."
"With
the Triple A we can go back to basics and properly motivate chefs
through a programme based on craft skills as opposed to boring paper trails.
"We
see the AAA as being a big incentive to us in the recruitment of
chefs. We want to try and get them at a young age and install a great
passion for food and the skills of the kitchen. All our junior chefs
promotions will be based on how they perform in their AAA exams!
"The
message is that gaining knowledge and ability will bring greater
rewards further down the line.
"Chefs
are passionate about their subject, it is infectious and young chefs
will be inspired by that through the mentoring they receive.
"We
want to give every chef the opportunity to fulfill their passion by
giving them a really good grounding.
"Some
20 years ago British Transport Hotels were a great place to start a
career, a superb base to go on to Michelin restaurants or to work overseas.
"We
want to try to replicate that training and the learning culture those
great hotels had."
Rob Dant, 28,
who now holds both Triple A qualifications and has become a Triple A
mentor himself, is a Sous Chef at Christ's Hospital in West Sussex,
part of Chartwells, the educational arm of the Compass Group. He
says: "It was very worthwhile and definitely a positive
experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
"If
I'm ever in the situation where I'm looking at people's CVs I'd
definitely be looking for the Triple A. It sets the standard, you
know what your are getting."
Donald
McInnes, Group Support Head Chef for Malmaison & Hotel Du Vin
adds: "The people who have established the Triple A in our
company did so after coming to the conclusion that skills in the
kitchen were becoming so depleted something had to be done."We
have missed a whole generation of chefs whose basic skill level is
not that of past decades. "It just needs one or two guys in the
kitchen to do it and become mentors then it becomes ingrained. They
are learning how to teach and that has fantastic benefits, it boosts
their confidence and it brings everyone's standards up.
"Others
see what's happening and want to be part of it. They see that they
need these qualifications in order to progress; it gives a healthy
competitive edge in the kitchen. "Basically we are telling new
recruits who come into the company: we will train you and look after
you and you will develop. The firm is hugely committed to this, it is
important to our future. Things have to change because if they don't
in ten years time we will have people as head chefs who can't portion
a chicken."
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