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The courses officially launched last week with ten students attending an after-school class at Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy in Wolverhampton. The Junior Chef Academy demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to ‘enrich the learning of young students’ and promote career opportunities available within the hospitality industry.

The ten week course, which is free of charge, will run during after-school hours or over the weekend. Attending students will learn about key chef skills, such as knifework, before focusing on learning and developing dishes from a weekly theme, including bread and pizza, salads and healthy eating, and a meat masterclass.

Andrew Walker, culinary director at Chartwells, said: “This course is not a flash in the pan, it gives students an in-depth understanding and experience of the skills needed to become a chef. We need to be doing more as an industry to promote the fantastic opportunities that exist within hospitality and hopefully this course will create a spark of excitement within students that leads to a fulfilling career in the kitchen.”

The course, which promotes sustainability, nutrition, good hygiene, and healthy eating practices, culminates in a celebratory graduation event whereby the students demonstrate their new-found cookery skills at a three-course dinner event, attended by special guests.

Miss L Craig, principal at Our Lady and St Chad Catholic Academy, added: “The level of engagement from the students was amazing and the atmosphere in the room was electrifying. It was simply outstanding to see the commitment to learning in the room, all under the guidance of industry experts. The skills learned over this course will be fundamentally valuable to our students, across many aspects of their lives, irrespective of whether they pursue a culinary career.”