As part of the Career Excellence Hub in hospitality and catering, a Chef Apprentice has access to an exciting masterclass programme, giving them the essential chef skills. Masterclasses are delivered monthly by industry professionals including producers and artisans including expert guest bakers, butchers and fishmongers.

Today's Chef apprentice masterclass is led by Mark Chapman, the Executive Chef from Gambas Tapas Bar, Bristol, who will guide the apprentices through a seafood and shellfish masterclass, where they:

• Shuck fresh oysters and serve them au natural with lemon and tabasco.
• Peeled, de-veined and cleaned prawns, served as a traditional Spanish dish called ‘Gambas pil pil’ (garlic chilli prawns).
• Shuck and cleaned fresh scallops. These were cooked on the plancha and served with a roe bechamel, freshly sliced jamon and parsley butter.

We also looked at portion size and weight, understanding fish monger skills and the terms and techniques used, plus discussed the the farm to fork journey.

Mark is a classically trained, fine dining chef, with over 16 years experience. He started his training as a chef in Sydney, Australia completing a 4 year apprenticeship whilst working full-time in restaurant’s. He developed his skills in a range of Michelin equivalent ‘hat’ restaurants in Sydney, including Sepia (a French Japanese fusion restaurant), The Light Brigade Hotel, Bistro Ortolan and Wolgan Valley (a 5 Star exclusive Emirates hotel in the Blue Mountains).

Mark moved to Bristol to be with his now wife in 2012. Where he has since worked in a range of restaurants in Bristol and Bath since then including at the Michelin Star hotel The Bath Priory.

Since joining Season + Taste as a Head Chef at Bravas in 2016, Mark became an Executive Chef of the whole group in 2018 and is enjoying putting his fine dining experience into some more creative ventures like Gambas, Cantina and Bakers and co.

He became the Executive Chef of Gambas Tapas bar in 2019 earning the restaurant a Michelin plate and volunteers for a number of Bristol charity unions such as Bristol Food Union, for whom he managed a community of 11 of Bristol best restaurants to provide meals for frontline workers and vulnerable people during the pandemic.

He said “there is a shortage of staff in the hospitality industry but the only way the industry can overcome this is by investing time, training and money into the new generation of chefs who are 21 years or younger, and allowing them the space to work alongside those in the industry who are older with more experienced.

"It’s harder to find staff for both kitchen and front of house, so empowering the younger generation with creativity, stability, flexibility, motivation and interest is the only way to ensure the new generation not just join the industry but stay and grow in it also. This is why I am here today!”

Mark’s final words to future chefs is “Cook with Passion.”

Find out more about being a Chef Apprentice:

• Courses and Apprenticeships for school leavers
• Next open event