Hospitality

Andy Birch, Head of Catering, JJB Stadium, Wigan
Michelle Bridge, Practitioner, Pemberton Business and Enterprise College (PEMBEC), Wigan
Melanie Leaford, Practitioner, Pemberton Business and Enterprise College (PEMBEC), Wigan
Level 2 Learner, Standish High School, Wigan
Terry Sweeney, Director Estates and Facilities, Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust, Liverpool
Emma Rostaing, Singer, Rene; and Practitioner, Pemberton Business and Enterprise College (PEMBEC), Wigan
Ged Stazicker, Practitioner, Standish Community High School, Wigan
David Whelan, Chairman, Wigan Athletic

Narrator: Ahead of their delivery of the Diploma in Hospitality next year, PEMBEC worked together with a local restaurant to offer Wigan schools an exciting work-based opportunity for groups of learners and staff.

Andy Birch: First of all, I'd like to welcome you all to Rigolettos. It's a pleasure to have you all in the restaurant today.

Level 2 Learner: It's, like, ten schools, and there's two students and a teacher from each school. And we're all a big team making a different course. And we're all working together to feed over a hundred people.

Michelle Bridge: They've actually got a chef with each team, working with them, and they're getting that mentoring experience. Just something that they wouldn't get within a school environment. So, it's brilliant that the employers themselves are getting engaged and getting involved with the pupils and willing to do that.

Narrator: The process of planning the event was a chance for the school to develop their relationship with JJB Stadium. And PEMBEC found a great Diploma champion in the Head of Catering, Andy Birch.

Melanie Leaford: When I initially approached him with the idea he wanted to get completely on board with it. He took on everything that I suggested and then gave a lot more ideas of his own on how we could make it work. So his input has been enormous and fantastic.

Andy Birch: If you have got questions like that, you keep asking me because it will set your mind at rest on things what you're going to plan towards. I think the main thing I think is that when I started off as a chef, going back into the early 90's, is that I wasn't really given a hell of a lot of advice. And I think what we're doing here with these children in particular is, if some of them want to go into catering, we're giving them the choice. We're giving them a good insight into what it's like in a professional kitchen under a tough service situation. And they've got a choice then. They can see what it's like. They can decide if they like it. Or they can decide they don't want to do it and they can move onto something else. So I think that's one thing they should all take away from this evening, I think.

Andy Birch: What we want to do is just get all of these lined out and we want seventy of them.

Level 2 Learner: We're doing the main course which is a chicken wrapped in bacon dish.

Level 2 Learner: There's a mustard mash with it, and a couple of other things, like, there's a sauce. There's a lot of working going in, especially for seventy people it's really hectic.

Level 2 Learner: I was making goat's cheese tarts, which was really good. We had it with a salad, and we learnt how to dress it and everything. It shows you what actual chefs are really like. You know, like, all the different kinds of skills that you use and the way that you use different equipment.

Level 2 Learner: We were surprised at how much we had to do. Because we were making a big bowl of bread, and we'd done one, and then he brought two massive bowls more, so we both a bit bewildered by it.

Andy Birch: Enjoy yourselves. Take as much experience as you can away from it, have a good night, and I hope all your families and going to have a good time as well. I'm sure everyone is going to give you a good pat on the back later on.

Andy Birch: It's really good for the whole school community to come together into one place, and all to get along, and learn a little bit about cooking, and a little bit about their selves, and a little bit about our business.

Narrator: The guest list for the event included other local employers and key figures in the community. For Rigoletto's this meant a welcome PR opportunity. And for the Diploma team it was a chance to demonstrate to employers the benefits of working with learners.

Terry Sweeney: An event like tonight brings a lot of ingredients that are really critical in today's society. It introduces the kids to things that they would never experience. It will certainly increase their self-esteem and their confidence.

Emma Rostaing: I think it gives them that bit of ambition as well, when they go there and they can experience high-pressure roles in the industry. It helps the relationship with some of the young people and the staff as well.

Ged Stazicker: It was good having the chefs there to help you, because they give you a lot of tips that you wouldn't normally get at home or at school. It was just good experience actually learning things in the workplace, out in the big wide world.

Level 2 Learner: I think it's been really good, actually the cooking and the preparing of all of food, the chopping the ingredients, that's been dead good.

Level 2 Learner: We've learned some new skills off the chef and that. So it's been a good experience.

Level 2 Learner: It's think it's really good, it gives you work experience and made me more interested in the actual catering industry and about what goes on and all the different things you can do.

David Whelan: Have you enjoyed it then?

Group: Yes!

David Whelan: You can see the enjoyment in these youngsters and they're getting something real to do. And this will help them in their lives, there's no question about that.

Andy Birch: It's has been absolutely fantastic. I can't believe the quality and standards of food that we've been putting out. The children: inspirational; working together, creating really good food, getting along, getting along with my staff, listening to what's being told, what's being asked of them, and replicating that onto a plate. Over a hundred happy visitors to our restaurant, hopefully going to come back again and have a meal with us, so that's really good for business. And a lot of job satisfaction to be honest. So, what an evening. I'm really pleased with it.

END