Butlin’s has launched a new Chef Academy designed to train, coach and validate current team and new starters to the standard required to operate in all catering venues at its three resorts.
The Butlin’s Chef Academy will also help aspiring chefs develop industry skills in a year-long programme that will help them enter the catering industry and gain a professional qualification.
How the academy will work
The course will begin with a two-week training session in a purpose-built test kitchen close to the Minehead resort. Chefs will be introduced to practical kitchen skills in a professional kitchen environment.
This is 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.
Throughout the process, chefs will participate in five week-long skills and knowledge masterclasses where Butlin’s has partnered with industry professionals such as Fresh Direct, Billingsgate Fish Market and Birtwistles.
This higher-skills training will begin with a two-day experience focused on a particular food theme. Each chef will develop culinary skills through planning, ordering and executing a menu based upon their theme. Themes include Asian cookery, gala dinners, Patisserie, street food and vegan cooking.
These masterclasses form a part of the chef’s preparation so they can adapt to create a menu for any client request, including conferences and events.
The chefs will also be given the opportunity to develop their event catering skills, working directly with events taking place at Butlin’s, such as the recent Wickes conference at Bognor Regis and Spring Harvest at Minehead and Skegness.
The final masterclass will round up everything the chefs have learnt over the year with a trip to a European culinary hub. They will also have the opportunity to design dishes that will hopefully become part of the Butlin’s offering on resort.
Mark Murphy, development chef, Butlin’s, said: “The Chef Academy has been years in the making and we have already welcomed two cohorts of chefs who have worked on several different conferences and events ranging from small events to large corporate gala dinners.
“It’s a unique and fun programme where aspiring chefs get to work with industry experts. 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.”
