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The Elior Chef School involves interactive workshops held under the instruction of its senior chef team and renowned industry chefs, including Anton Edelman, and combines practical experience with traditional learning.

Each month students cover different topics, from butchery and bread making to sauces and seafood, while working towards a Level 2 NVQ. Most of the sessions are held at Elior’s flagship development kitchen at Waterstone’s Piccadilly.

Many Elior suppliers are involved with the programme, supplying ingredients for the classes and hosting visits. Among other locations, students have visited Billingsgate Fish Market to learn about sourcing fresh ingredients, with a fishing trip and a farm visit lined up for this year’s class.

Tammy Starling, learning and development manager at Elior, said: “By taking chefs away from busy kitchens where they feel under pressure to not make mistakes, and giving them time in a learning environment to be expressive and creative, they improve quicker. They become more confident in their role, benefit from an expanded repertoire and their overall quality of cooking is better.

“Our goal at Elior is to make sure all our chefs feel happy and confident in their roles so they can continually learn and develop their skills. For employees to deliver great customer service they have to feel proud of what they do and our commitment to them is at the forefront of our operations.”