Aspiring chefs are at luck at Butlin’s resorts, as it has launched a brand new Chef Academy.
The new programme will be launched at all 3 resorts: Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness.
It has been designed to help aspiring chefs proceed in their careers by giving them the platform to learn, grow and develop industry skills.
The Academy will be accepting four chefs per resort, 12 chefs in total. Four different programmes will run a year, meaning 48 chefs a year will be able to get a place in the Academy.
The year-long programme is a comprehensive apprenticeship and sees participants awarded with a professional qualification.
The course starts with two-weeks of training in a purpose-built test kitchen close to the Minehead resort. Chefs will be introduced to practical kitchen skills by training in a professional kitchen environment.
This is then followed by on resort coaching where the chefs will work in up to five different restaurants, developing skills to be flexible in a range of kitchens.
A mentor will be assigned to each chef who will regularly check their progress and support however possible.
One of the best and most unique highlights of the Chef Academy is the 5 week long skills and knowledge masterclasses where Butlin’s has partnered with industry experts such as McCains, Billingsgate Fish Market and Birtwhistles.
This higher-skills training will start with a two-day experience of a particular food theme developing each chefs’ culinary skills where they will need to plan, order and execute a menu based upon their theme.
Themes include Asian cookery, gala dinners, Patisserie, street food and vegan cooking. The final masterclass rounds off everything the chefs have learnt over the year with a trip to a European culinary hub.
The Butlin’s Chef Academy offers clear career growth opportunities with a progress path within the company.
When the Academy is completed, each chef is guaranteed a rate of pay that is above the industry average in relation to their position in the kitchen.
Toby Hill, Senior Development Chef at Butlin’s said: “We’re delighted to be launching the very first Butlin’s Chef Academy. This has been years in the making and is the perfect platform for anyone wanting to get into the industry. It gives a real potential for growth and development in the kitchen.
“It’s a unique and fun programme where we work with industry experts to get the very best out of our chefs. We wanted to launch an academy that stands out from the crowd and the masterclass weeks certainly do that.
"They will enable our chefs to really develop a higher level and more diverse skills based upon their experience in the industry. We can’t wait to welcome chefs to the programme and see them progress through their career at Butlin’s.”
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