12th April 2013
Autumn 2008: Facing the challenge
Chefs in the new Craft Guild's Culinary Academy are gearing up for one of their biggest challenges ahead at the Culinary Olympics in October
Junior chefs and mentors from the Craft Guild of Chef's Culinary Academy panel met in July at Westminster Kingsway College in London to highlight the significance of their next biggest international competitions in the chef calendar – the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany that runs from October 18-22.
Along with their sponsors – Brakes, Electrolux Professional, Essential Cuisine and Gourmet Classic – they had their first joint experience of the host country's cuisine with a specially prepared German buffet breakfast, followed by a presentation from Craft Guild chairman Nick Vadis.
Vadis explained the importance of our chefs in today's society: “Eating out is said will be worth £36.6bn by 2012, which explains why chefs are under huge pressure to meet rising customer expectations. Therefore it is absolutely key that we bring on chefs with the skills, talent and calibre to fly the flag at the Olympics.”
The Culinary Olympics, which is in its 22nd year, takes place every four years and will see more than 30 countries competing. It is seen as a great opportunity for chefs across the globe to get an insight into each other's methods and culinary expertise. The Craft Guild's spend on this prestigious event is around £25,000 – a sum Vadis admits is a long way away from the multi-millions spent by teams from other countries such as the US.
The Guild sees the academy as a key to the world of culinary competitions for both seasoned competitors and those new to the competition scene. Culinary team captain Andy Twells says: “We wanted to put an infrastructure in place for people to compete at major national and international culinary events and provide them with the information they need to do so and mentorship they'll need to succeed.”
“It's about giving people a competitive edge and providing people with the skills that we have honed over the years that aren't available to them. We have all learnt by our mistakes, therefore our aim is to stop these young chefs making the same ones.
“We want to ensure that in years to come, there will be a plentiful supply of well trained competitors and the UK continues to grow as a culinary force to be reckoned with. We want to attract passionate young chefs looking for an arena to improve their skills who feel they could bring even more flavour to Britain's catering industry.”
Building on the Craft Guild's long tradition, Twells is creating the team for the Guild's first Culinary Olympics event under the academy banner, and has in place the Culinary Academy panel that would be either competing or acting as a mentor. These included: Mark Hill, Bob Brown, Matt Owens, Vince Cottam, Christopher Basten, Dennis Mwakulua, Bernhard Engelhardt, and Simon Stocker.
The awards won by these chefs include the No2 Best Patisserie Chef in the world in 2006 achieved by Matt Owens, London Chef of the Year in 2007 for Dennis Mwakulua, and the Craft Guild's 2008 Competition Chef of the Year for Vince Cottam.
Other Guild chef members of the Olympic team are: Liz Bravery of London Marriott Hotel County Hall; James Davis of Eton College; Natalie Culleton of Compass Group; Mike Godfrey of Eton College; Lahiru Jayasekara of Le Manoir aux Quatr' Saisons; Lisa Mansel of Langham Hotel; Fergus Martin of Wyboston Lakes; Scotland's Martin Wishart; plus consultant chefs Mathew Shropshall and Sophie Wright.
The plan is for the team to take part in three cold live categories: Culinary Art (A) where six chefs will create cold larder displays; Culinary Art (B) where five chefs will prepare hot restaurant food displayed cold; and Patisserie (C) where two team members will demonstrate their patisserie skills with centrepiece. Chefs will enter as individuals as well.
The team will share workspace with Finland's national team and the Compass Group's culinary team, affording them opportunities to work with highly skilled and experienced chefs. Junior members, who are chefs under 23 with limited competition experience, and selected to compete for the academy, will receive a bespoke badge and jacket to show they have the Craft Guild's backing. They will also be accompanied by members of the panel who will be monitoring and advising them.
Within the academy, there are several levels of achievement to work towards, from Junior Academy Member to Master of the Academy, who are those who have achieved gold in international events and committed to mentorship for the academy. But each level carries its own certification and medal of recognition.
During development, young chefs will be given a list of senior Guild members and, in the near future, DVDs as tools to increase their knowledge about topics such as successful cold work for competitions and live cookery success.
Christopher Basten, executive head chef at London Marriott Hotel County Hall, explained how being part of the panel benefits him and his business: “For me, it is a good recruitment tool. If I see a student that has talent, I want them to work for me. Competition gives these young chefs a sharp edge.”
Supporting the Academy is very important to the sponsors as well. Andrew Jones, managing director of Electrolux Professional, says: “I have a big fear of skills not getting through. To me, getting youngsters to the top level is essential to our skills sector.”
Competitions and events identified by the Academy as skills based are: Hospitality in January 2009 in Birmingham, Wessex Salon in March 2009 in Bournemouth, the nationwide Major Mini Series and the Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate awards. Vadis also looked ahead at the opportunities for the Culinary Academy competing at the WorldSkills competition, which will take place in October 2011 at ExCel in London. For the right to host the 41st competition, the UK had competed against Australia, France and Sweden and won the bid in 2006.
But first there is the Olympics.
Along with their sponsors – Brakes, Electrolux Professional, Essential Cuisine and Gourmet Classic – they had their first joint experience of the host country's cuisine with a specially prepared German buffet breakfast, followed by a presentation from Craft Guild chairman Nick Vadis.
Vadis explained the importance of our chefs in today's society: “Eating out is said will be worth £36.6bn by 2012, which explains why chefs are under huge pressure to meet rising customer expectations. Therefore it is absolutely key that we bring on chefs with the skills, talent and calibre to fly the flag at the Olympics.”
The Culinary Olympics, which is in its 22nd year, takes place every four years and will see more than 30 countries competing. It is seen as a great opportunity for chefs across the globe to get an insight into each other's methods and culinary expertise. The Craft Guild's spend on this prestigious event is around £25,000 – a sum Vadis admits is a long way away from the multi-millions spent by teams from other countries such as the US.
The Guild sees the academy as a key to the world of culinary competitions for both seasoned competitors and those new to the competition scene. Culinary team captain Andy Twells says: “We wanted to put an infrastructure in place for people to compete at major national and international culinary events and provide them with the information they need to do so and mentorship they'll need to succeed.”
“It's about giving people a competitive edge and providing people with the skills that we have honed over the years that aren't available to them. We have all learnt by our mistakes, therefore our aim is to stop these young chefs making the same ones.
“We want to ensure that in years to come, there will be a plentiful supply of well trained competitors and the UK continues to grow as a culinary force to be reckoned with. We want to attract passionate young chefs looking for an arena to improve their skills who feel they could bring even more flavour to Britain's catering industry.”
Building on the Craft Guild's long tradition, Twells is creating the team for the Guild's first Culinary Olympics event under the academy banner, and has in place the Culinary Academy panel that would be either competing or acting as a mentor. These included: Mark Hill, Bob Brown, Matt Owens, Vince Cottam, Christopher Basten, Dennis Mwakulua, Bernhard Engelhardt, and Simon Stocker.
The awards won by these chefs include the No2 Best Patisserie Chef in the world in 2006 achieved by Matt Owens, London Chef of the Year in 2007 for Dennis Mwakulua, and the Craft Guild's 2008 Competition Chef of the Year for Vince Cottam.
Other Guild chef members of the Olympic team are: Liz Bravery of London Marriott Hotel County Hall; James Davis of Eton College; Natalie Culleton of Compass Group; Mike Godfrey of Eton College; Lahiru Jayasekara of Le Manoir aux Quatr' Saisons; Lisa Mansel of Langham Hotel; Fergus Martin of Wyboston Lakes; Scotland's Martin Wishart; plus consultant chefs Mathew Shropshall and Sophie Wright.
The plan is for the team to take part in three cold live categories: Culinary Art (A) where six chefs will create cold larder displays; Culinary Art (B) where five chefs will prepare hot restaurant food displayed cold; and Patisserie (C) where two team members will demonstrate their patisserie skills with centrepiece. Chefs will enter as individuals as well.
The team will share workspace with Finland's national team and the Compass Group's culinary team, affording them opportunities to work with highly skilled and experienced chefs. Junior members, who are chefs under 23 with limited competition experience, and selected to compete for the academy, will receive a bespoke badge and jacket to show they have the Craft Guild's backing. They will also be accompanied by members of the panel who will be monitoring and advising them.
Within the academy, there are several levels of achievement to work towards, from Junior Academy Member to Master of the Academy, who are those who have achieved gold in international events and committed to mentorship for the academy. But each level carries its own certification and medal of recognition.
During development, young chefs will be given a list of senior Guild members and, in the near future, DVDs as tools to increase their knowledge about topics such as successful cold work for competitions and live cookery success.
Christopher Basten, executive head chef at London Marriott Hotel County Hall, explained how being part of the panel benefits him and his business: “For me, it is a good recruitment tool. If I see a student that has talent, I want them to work for me. Competition gives these young chefs a sharp edge.”
Supporting the Academy is very important to the sponsors as well. Andrew Jones, managing director of Electrolux Professional, says: “I have a big fear of skills not getting through. To me, getting youngsters to the top level is essential to our skills sector.”
Competitions and events identified by the Academy as skills based are: Hospitality in January 2009 in Birmingham, Wessex Salon in March 2009 in Bournemouth, the nationwide Major Mini Series and the Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate awards. Vadis also looked ahead at the opportunities for the Culinary Academy competing at the WorldSkills competition, which will take place in October 2011 at ExCel in London. For the right to host the 41st competition, the UK had competed against Australia, France and Sweden and won the bid in 2006.
But first there is the Olympics.