Chef Marco Pierre White backs Greene King’s apprentice initiative

18th November 2011, 11:32am

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has taken time out of his own kitchen to back a major initiative by Greene King which has almost 700 young apprentices working in its pubs and restaurants across the UK.

Pierre White helped officially launch the pub retailer and brewer's own Discovery Apprenticeship programme at a master class cookery demonstration to celebrate the achievements of some of the first apprentices to qualify.

The programme has been introduced to train and develop employees across the pub company's 2,400 pubs, including its Hungry Horse and Old English Inn pub chains, Loch Fyne Restaurants and its main brewery site.

The celebrity chef recently hosted the masterclass for eight apprentices, each nominated by their business development managers. He showed the group simple and effective techniques of cooking with sea bass which they could take back to their own kitchens. 

He also talked about his own work ethic as an apprentice and his belief that good training and work experience is a passport to the world.

Jonathan Webster, managing director of Greene King's Destination Pubs and Restaurants division at Greene King, explained: "Our aim is not to just provide a 'pub job' but to offer a clear career path for our employees. Our Discovery Apprenticeship programme allows our employees to gain qualifications while gaining hands-on experience on the job.

"We hope our current apprentices will become our house managers, regional managers, development chefs and even directors of the future, and we might even have a future Michelin star rated chef among this crop of apprentices."

Related Articles:

• 24 Feb 2010 - Apprentices poach tips from Marco Pierre White
• 31 Jan 2008 - Marco Pierre White drops into seaside café
• 06 Nov 2007 - Marco Pierre-White teams up with P&O

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