October 2015
Students serve up success at Young Waiters Academy
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UCB is running their first ever Young Waiters Academy, taking on students aged 14-15 to give them first-hand experience of what it’s like to work within the hospitality profession.
This academy is the first of its kind in the country and is sponsored by the Savoy Educational Trust. It consists of a free eight-week course aimed at Year 10 and 11 pupils that is run for three hours on a Saturday, designed to boost young peoples’ confidence and introduce them to the range of rewarding careers in the food and drinks industry.
The students are taught the art of service, which includes laying tables and preparing a restaurant for customers, serving a variety food and drink, preparing salads, carving meat and sampling a range of dishes in order to be able to describe them to customers. They also take a turn behind the bar to try their hand at creating mocktails and cooking flambé dishes.
"The students have a go at everything that they would be required to learn in order to obtain a Level 1 qualification in Hospitality and even some extra skills on top of that. We are coming towards the end of the academy now, which involves inviting their parents for lunch in The Brasserie and having the students demonstrate their serving skills and professionalism. The first Young Waiters Academy was a real success, and we are looking forward to taking on bigger cohorts of students next year."
The next Young Waiters Academy will be run in January 2016 with another intake opening in May.