“As long as you’ve got the interest and the passion, we can teach you the techniques.”

 

Cooking is a passion of mine and I’ve always enjoyed teaching, training the staff wherever I’ve worked. I’ve worked in hospitality for more than 20 years. I started off by doing Hospitality and cooking Training at a college myself. I worked in a Michelin star restaurant, in the kitchen as well as supervising front of house. I’ve also travelled a little, picking up different cultures and different cuisines. I joined HTP in September 2020.

I teach the General Cookery qualification which covers general life skills, basic cooking skills that you can use at home and take into a qualification that could progress into employment in hospitality. The Professional Cookery Level 1 Diploma prepares you for the workplace, taking in cooking methods, classical dishes and professional techniques. You’ll learn about different cultures and cuisines, healthy eating and allergens, as well as a separate qualification in Food Safety.

Hospitality skills are great because you take them with you wherever you go. Some of my learners want to be pastry chefs. Others want to work abroad, or on cruise ships. Most of my Professional Cookery learners from last year were secured placements on Apprenticeships this year.

You’ve got to enjoy cooking, but these courses are also really good for independent life skills, in the home as well as the workplace. As long as you’ve got the interest and the passion we can teach you the techniques. We have completely mixed groups too, with an equal male / female balance.

I love my job. It’s so rewarding and you get to see the learners getting creative, putting their own flair into a recipe, presenting the dish as if they were serving it to a customer, putting all those skills into practice.

I love cooking with spices and experimenting with flavours. I enjoy preparing curries from scratch and I’m getting into using Japanese flavours and techniques.

I hope that my learners will leave these courses with the ability to follow a recipe and adapt it in their own style; to use professional kitchen equipment in the workplace, as well as a new found confidence.