Hotel group teams up with top chef to launch culinary academy

A leading hotel group is serving up a new recipe to inspire young people to forge a career in the hospitality sector.
 
English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues is working in partnership with multi-award winning local chef Steven Doherty to launch its new ‘Culinary Academy’ training initiative.
 
Under Steven’s expert technical guidance, the academy scheme centres on a two year apprenticeship which trains participants to become commis chefs whilst under the employment of the hotel group.
 
The initiative involves working under the watchful eye of the hotel group’s own head chefs at award-winning venues across the Lake District and North Lancashire, with one day per week dedicated to offsite training with Steven.
 
The English Lakes Culinary Academy is aimed at school leavers with a desire to become great chefs, with the first group of students due to commence training in September.  It is fully accredited to deliver the commis chef apprenticeship standard approved by the Government.
 
Simon Berry from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues explains:  “This is a chance for our rising young talent to work with and learn from the very best right at the start of their careers.  A commis chef is the most likely starting position in many kitchens for aspiring young chefs to learn the basic functions of a professional kitchen.
 
“Steven will be an invaluable asset to guide and inspire our culinary staff to create quality and innovation in the dining experiences we aim to provide. We are confident that he will help many of them graduate and progress onto future senior chef roles, whether they choose to stay in our group or move on to leading restaurants around the world.”
 
Steven Doherty adds: “I am thrilled to be involved in helping the English Lakes group bring the Culinary Academy initiative alive.  It’s an opportunity to develop a fantastic career.
 
“The apprenticeship offers that important balance of realising how personal and team performance impacts on the success of dishes and menus, as well as understanding the principles of supply chain, waste management and the basic costing and yield of dishes.”
 
This is an exciting time to join English Lakes Hotels, with great venues from The Midland on Morecambe Bay to the Waterhead in Ambleside.  During 2017, the hotel group will also open the Lake District’s first luxury resort following a £16 million redevelopment of Low Wood Bay.
 
Steven Doherty joined Albert Roux’s iconic Le Gavroche in 1978 as a commis chef, working his way up to becoming Albert’s sous chef in 1982. When the head chef position became available, Steven became the first Briton in history to run a three Michelin-starred restaurant, cementing his status as a legendary chef. In Cumbria, he is credited with kick-starting the gastropub scene and is a frequent judge for some of the industry’s most coveted awards.
 
For further information about English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues and its ‘Culinary Academy’, email Val Still at [email protected] or visit englishlakes.co.uk