Earlier this month hotel management company Interstate Hotels & Resorts launched a new Chef Academy for apprentices at the Aloft Hotel, Birmingham.
Interstate, the international arm of Aimbridge Hospitality, has joined forces with Inspiro Training to help deliver the programme which saw Interstate taking on 17 new apprentices from across the UK, with the aim of training each apprentice to become a production chef or sous chef within 18 months.
The apprentices will be placed in one of Interstate 46 properties across the UK and will receive on-the job training as well as the opportunity to take part in competitions and masterclasses in the Interstate training kitchen.
At the launch event, all new apprentices were issued with new chef whites and knives for use throughout the programme. The event was attended by Helen Buckler & Sarah Perrigo from the Learning & Development team plus Hazel Hogben (Senior Vice President for Human Resources), Debbie Johnson (Senior Vice President of Operations Support) and Stephen Roach (Vice President for Food and Beverage).
Throughout the day, all apprentices took part in a number of activities centered round the 5 senses and showcasing the importance of using these senses as part of their successful new roles as apprentice chefs. The day culminated in an event which allowed the apprentices to showcase their skills by developing a new dessert using a variety of ingredients. The results were judged by Helen and Hazel with the assistance of the Executive Head Chef Steve Unwin from the Aloft Hotel Birmingham.
Hazel Hogben, Senior Vice President – human resources at Interstate Hotels & Resorts, said:
“We hope that by launching this new apprenticeship scheme we can capture the interest of young people across the UK and demonstrate all the benefits a career as a chef has to offer.
We want to excite and inspire our apprentices by showing them how they can progress in the role from production or commis chef to head chef and beyond, and to really spark a love of food by teaching them about the value of quality ingredients, nutrition and food provenance.”
Alongside the apprentices’ on-the-job training, the programme will also see students take part in three assessments throughout the course, as well as coaching and mentoring, e-learning and task simulation.
