Leading UK hotel management company RBH is proactively tackling the skills shortage in its kitchens with a pioneering chef training initiative.
Twelve students from Gran Canaria and Tenerife are currently undertaking six month work placements at QHotels properties Slaley Hall, Crewe Hall, Dunston Hall and Stratford Manor and newly rebranded DoubleTree by Hilton Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Representatives from RBH visit the hotel schools abroad in March to carry out interviews with the aim of sourcing candidates that will become full-time employees. The students are all in their second year of studying Kitchen Cuisine and are trained to a Chef de Partie level.
The partnership with Resort Restaurant and People Partners began originally with QHotels in 2017 and was such a success that two students were offered permanent positions following completion of the course.
In the QHotels and DoubleTree by Hilton kitchens, the students complete either a Kitchen Management or Kitchen Cuisine course. The management course includes high volume, banqueting style catering whereas the cuisine course is catering to Rosette or Michelin Star standard.
Julian Prosser, RBH Group Executive Chef, said: “The students are all highly motivated with superb basic kitchen skills, and it’s great to see their commitment to pursuing a career in hospitality. We place the students in our larger properties where they can gain experience in fine dining, large banquets, conference catering and leisure menus.
“We’re really proud of this partnership and it’s a key step in our strategy to proactively drive chef recruitment, retention and development across the portfolio. Our long term plan as this initiative develops is to arrange work placements for a selection of our current employees at these hotel schools.”