IT only takes a glimpse of one of the Masterchef programmes on TV to prove just how tough life in a professional kitchen can be.
But it seems that an increasing trend within training institutions is to provide on-the-job experience for future chefs by letting them run their own restaurant or cafe.
At the South West Area of Northamptonshire Community Interest Company, known in shorter terms as the SWAN CIC, the first batch of NVQ Hospitality and Catering recruits are about to finish their course and new students are currently being taken on to start from scratch with the whole experience.
One important aspect of the students’ training is the fact that on Tuesdays and Fridays they run their own eatery, a venue known as the Cygnets Bistro, which is open to the public.
Based at The Old Barn in Pury Hill Business Park, Towcester, students are put through their paces, hosting themed lunches on Tuesdays and a general menu on Friday lunchtimes.
SWAN’s Marion Gould, education co-ordinator, explained that meals are prepared using vegetables grown on site and any profit generated by the bistro is ploughed back into the company’s projects.
She explained: “SWAN began two years ago and the bistro opened as soon as we opened. We cater for the people on the street, we want people to come in and sample the food the students are cooking.”
About 10 students are currently studying the course at SWAN, all recruited either independently or from local schools.
Although the action in the kitchen is overseen by a professional chef, responsibility weighs heavy on the students’ shoulders as they experience life in a working restaurant. But how do the customers react?
Marion said: “Once they find out, we get some good remarks coming back and I think they have been amazed at the variety of the food.”
She continued: “A lot of the students might not be as academic as some of the others but they get good practical skills and a good understanding of working life in a kitchen. If they go on to catering college they will already have two years of experience and they are learning to work as a team.
“This is our first cohort and they will be leaving us in July.”
NVQ student Jack Fitzgerald, a 15-year-old pupil at Guilsborough School, has been accepted to study catering at Northampton College’s Booth Lane campus following on from his success at SWAN CIC.
He said: “I thought taking this course would give me another stepping stone to get to college. My only ambition is to become a chef. My dad was a chef so I grew up surrounded by food and knowing stuff about food.
“We don’t have the same roles in the kitchen, one week we could be doing theory and another be in the kitchen doing pies, meats or desserts and the customers are pretty impressed by the food we can serve at our age. We keep getting regular customers coming back.”
To find out more,log onto www.swancic.co.uk