Chartwells, the UK’s leading school and education catering company, is celebrating the completion of its latest wave of Junior Culinary Skills, a free in-school programme that teaches children cooking skills and inspires the next generation of hospitality professionals.
Available at select Chartwells partner schools, the latest one-week courses at Poynton High School, Cheshire, and Glossopdale School, Derbyshire, saw 25 pupils aged 11 – 15 guided by Chartwells’ culinary team through engaging lessons on knifework, pasta and bread making, crafting nutritionally balanced dishes, and more. Junior Culinary Skills aims to broaden the skills and knowledge of young culinary talent while teaching them how to make better food choices for themselves and the planet.
Pupils at Poynton and Glossopdale mastered delicious and nutritious recipes including rosemary and red onion focaccia, chicken katsu curry, and mushroom tortellini with carbonara sauce. Following the course, the top-performing pupils were then selected to take part in an interschool cooking competition, where they were tasked with creating two portions of a main course within an hour and a budget of £5.
Dishes were scored by a panel of industry experts on technical skill, cleanliness, creativity, presentation, taste, and sustainability, with a healthy vegetarian lasagne, cooked by Poynton High School student Tilda Chadwick, taking home the trophy.
The competitors in the interschool competition will now compete in the local heat of national competition Springboard FutureChef in October – a programme which Chartwells has been a longstanding supporter of. As the biggest school culinary competition in the UK, Springboard FutureChef celebrates talented junior chefs whilst inspiring young people to pursue a career within the world of hospitality.
Nick Hughes, Regional Operations Manager at Chartwells, said: “At Chartwells, we’re passionate about nurturing new talent and inspiring the next generation of chefs. Our Junior Culinary Skills programme is important not only for teaching young people vital lessons on food, nutrition, and cooking, but also for encouraging them to explore an exciting, rewarding career path that they may not have previously considered.”
Stephen Woodward, Regional Development Chef at Chartwells, said: “It’s fantastic to organise the Junior Culinary Skills programme and see it resonate so strongly with young people. These courses are so important for equipping young people with tools they can take through their education and beyond. There are so many fantastic opportunities available in hospitality, and it’s a joy to deliver lifelong lessons to pupils while helping to spark interest in culinary careers.”