Lexington Catering, one of London’s leading foodservice organisations, has launched a new chef school in partnership with Elior’s Business & Industry business in London. The ten people who were selected to attend the school started their training on the 14th November 2016.
The new chef development school is based on an existing Elior chef school, located in Grantham. It is a nine-month programme designed for employees who want to pursue a career as a chef, particularly kitchen porters, general assistants and commis chefs, to give them the opportunity to learn the basics in cooking techniques and theory. The sessions are run by a team of experienced and dedicated development chefs, who work across Lexington and Elior.
Mike Sunley, CEO of Lexington and Elior’s City B&I business said, “The new school will support Lexington and Elior in retaining some incredibly talented individuals across the London business. Not only will it give our team the opportunity to progress into a chef role but it will work alongside Lexington’s existing apprenticeship programme and partnership with Galvin Restaurants to address the skills shortage in the kitchen.”
Nabil Saadi works as a commis chef at Lexington and signed up to the school to pursue his passion for cooking. At the end of this year he will be one of ten individuals who will gain valuable kitchen skills needed to be a fabulous chef. Nabil says, “I’m really looking forward to learning new skills from such knowledgeable chefs and having the opportunity to get to know other colleagues across the business. It will be a great chance to enjoy new challenges and projects on my own and as part of a team.”
The programme runs for nine months and involves monthly training in college. In addition, participants will visit markets with the team and carry out practical work experience at a special event where they can get to put their skills to the test.
