Local chef Josh Eggleton and St Monica Trust’s Adrian Kirikmaa have partnered with City of Bristol College to address the challenges to the hospitality industry with their project The School of Food.
The School of Food will work alongside our apprenticeship offer to add further value to the training of budding chefs. Apprentices will take part in a range of masterclasses delivered by local chefs, learning skills and recipes of the moment. Apprentices will get the opportunity to cook at high-profile events and locations, and build their skills beyond their workplace.
Our apprenticeship offer is well established in the Bristol community, and has seen recent growth thanks to the increase in demand. Employers can enable current staff to embark on an apprenticeship programme, or our recruitment team can place apprentices within the business. Each summer dozens of Hospitality and Catering students complete their course with us and gain a placement in the sector to start their career.
Apprentices will complete a 12-month course, undertaking the Commis Chef Level 2 apprenticeship. The apprenticeship covers everything from food preparation and nutrition through to chef and knife skills, food knowledge, how to take stock and financial aspects of working in a kitchen.
Apprentices will have an assessor who will visit them in the workplace and ensure their success on the programme. Director of Apprenticeship Sales Rebekah Wilkins said “There is great demand for high-quality apprenticeships linked to sector professionals. We have received a lot of interest so far and are excited to see the offer grow and support the hospitality sector in Bristol and beyond”.
Head of Catering at St Monica Trust and co-founder of The School of Food, Adrian Kirikmaa, said “we have been working closely with chefs, producers and educators to design a curriculum we feel will really benefit chefs starting in their career, and will enable them to learn the skills that are needed now by employers. With St Monica Trust placing its support behind the project, we will be helping to nurture the next generation of chefs who will be cooking to the Trust’s residents and customers for years to come”.
Trade experts estimate that the industry will need to recruit 1.3 million new staff by 2023 in order to fuel market growth.
Josh Eggleton, Chef Patrol at The Pony and Trap and The School of Food Co-founder, said “The shortage of chefs is by no means a new thing, it’s been bubbling away for years. For so long people have been talking about why it’s happening, but hardly anyone has looked at how we fix this”.
The likes of Elliott Lidstone of Box-E, Casamia’s Peter Sanchez-Iglesias and Great British Menu star Tommy Banks have all backed the School of Food as a positive force for the industry.
The first cohort available will start on 25 April at our central College Green Centre. To find out more about The School of Food or to speak to one of our team, please email partnerships@cityofbristol.ac.uk
