Launched last year, the Chef School, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), was created to inspire and teach aspiring chefs to break into the profession.
The MOD has offered up a space at one of its army bases in Grantham in return for making spaces available for its own chefs.
During the 10 month training course, the aspiring chefs enjoyed a trip to Smithfield market in London to learn how to butcher meat and fillet fish correctly, attended masterclasses in how to make and bake their own cakes and pies, plus had the opportunity to cook with four Michelin-starred chefs.
Stuart Nisbet, development chef at Elior, said: “The company was keen to develop our own talent pool of chefs owing to the limited number of skilled chefs we had to recruit from externally.
“As well as teaching the chefs to prepare great food, we also wanted to instil in our new chefs the importance of great service.
“Running Chef School has been an amazing experience – seeing students perfect their skills and grow in confidence over 10 short months has been hugely rewarding. I am extremely proud of them all.”
Out of the eight chefs Elior has put through Chef School, seven have already started their careers as chefs and Stuart is confident the eighth will soon join them.
Elior operates high profile catering contracts across the B&I, health & care homes, defence, education, stadia and heritage sectors.