FMA News & Press Releases
BaxterStorey Chef Academy graduates new talent
Published: Monday 14th October 2013
Source: BaxterStorey
A new group of 31 chefs from BaxterStorey – the UK’s leading independent corporate restaurateur – have graduated from its award-winning Chef Academy training programme. The occasion was marked with a prestigious ceremony at the British Medical Association House in London.
The graduates with BaxterStorey’s Co-Chief Executive, John Bennett and Chairman and CEO of WSH, Alastair Storey.
BaxterStorey has now qualified 219 chefs through its Academy and this year’s hard working students were awarded for achieving a variety of specialist qualifications including Culinary Arts, Chef Diploma and Chef Certificate. Over 130 people attended the high-profile event including guest speaker, Monica Galetti, Senior Sous Chef at La Gavroche and co-presenter and judge on BBC Two’s MasterChef UK: The Professional’s.
Graham Eveleigh, Head of Skills Development, BaxterStorey, said: “Our Chef Academy provides focused and dedicated training to front line teams to help them develop, progress and build a career for life. Because people are at the heart of everything we do, we invest heavily in training to ensure our staff become the best in their profession, equipping them with the essential leadership and managerial skills to support a career progression.
“The Chef Academy has provided its graduates with a strong foundation to succeed in the industry, from technical to financial skills. The Graduation Ceremony is a 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.”
Each of BaxterStorey’s training courses offer inspirational 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 three categories. The ‘Student of the Year’ Award was presented to BaxterStorey’s Katie Wyatt (Chef Diploma) at Oracle 510 and Candace Dunn (Culinary Arts Programme) at GE Capital, The Ark also took the title.
The ‘Trainer of the Year’ Award was received by BaxterStorey’s Julie Stevens (Chef Certificate) at UAL Central Saint Martins and Graham Hart (Chef Diploma) at Porsche Driving Experience. Also at this venue, Bartlomiej Bednarz collected the ‘Spirit of the Academy’ award.
ENDS
For further information about BaxterStorey contact Grayling:
Sarah Hartland on 02380 382970 or email [email protected]
Hannah Keddie on 02380 382970 or email [email protected]
Kimberley Holder on 0117 910 6360 or email [email protected]
Notes to Editors
About BaxterStorey
BaxterStorey is the UK’s leading independent food service specialist. Its heritage is built on the culinary expertise and the professional training and development of its people.
It employs more than 7,000 people at over 600 locations, and provides food service excellence to clients and customers in business and industry.
BaxterStorey’s core principle is to serve the best quality food, sourced and prepared locally using the finest produce. Through its chef and barista academies, it provides focused and dedicated training to front line teams helping them to become the best in their profession and to build a career for life.
The reach and talent of BaxterStorey’s business enables it to draw on an extensive pool of expertise within the food service sphere in the UK, providing it with a strong foundation to share and distribute best practice both locally and across the country.
Follow BaxterStorey on Twitter @baxter_Storey