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Last week I was invited to go to River Cottage HQ to learn all about their apprenticeship scheme. It was great to go and see what it is all about and see the famous vegetable garden at the front of the house. I got serious allotment envy! I even got to have my photo taken by the talented photographer Nick Hook.

River Cottage Chef Apprenticeship Scheme Open for Applications

The River Cottage Chefs’ School, a multi-award winning apprenticeship scheme is opening its doors to 60 new apprentices to start this September.

Completely free for 16 – 23 year olds but open to all ages, this opportunity combines on-the-job training across some of the South West’s top restaurants, hotels and pubs, while furthering skills at River Cottage’s Park Farm twice a month. During this time, apprentices will receive a salary from their employer during the 12 month programme.

Working with qualification provider City & Guilds, River Cottage will have places available for NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 in Professional Cookery as well as a Food and Beverage Service Level 2.

The range of masterclasses and placements planned will give students the knowledge, skills, elite experiences, confidence and understanding necessary for the best possible learning experience and ultimately flourish in the hospitality industry.

Students are given the chance to participate in an array of high profile events and learning experiences in addition to the core requirements of the qualification.

Learners on the scheme will benefit from some of the best tutors available. Their Lead Chef Tutor was recently awarded the Prince Philip Medal winner for his outstanding contribution to the hospitality industry. The teaching team includes a culinary Olympic medal winner, Masterchef finalist and Michelin experience.

Lead Chef Tutor, Gary Richmond said, “The hospitality industry is tremendously dynamic and requires creativity, passion, energy and all sorts of personalities.

“In addition to training our learners to be competent cooks, we want them to have a fundamental understanding of produce. We discuss food culture, provenance, animal welfare, sustainability, food miles and waste within every lesson. At River Cottage we believe that food ethics and cookery comes hand in hand.”

Since opening its doors in 2013, River Cottage has received numerous accolades for the quality of its apprenticeship scheme, including been listed in the UK’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list,  and recently receiving the prestigious Edge Foundation’s VQ Employer of the Year.

Applications for the Young Person Apprenticeship Scheme are being considered until the 28 August, with the programme starting in September.