<p>The Hospitality industry has always been dynamic and exciting to work in, and with restrictions lifting and everyone resuming life as normal, restaurants and hotels are hiring more staff than ever! This industry is worth over £59 billion in the UK alone!</p>

<p>The Hospitality Career Excellence Hub prepares learners for the world of employment and for a life in their chosen industry. Students will take away absolutely loads of skills required to work in Hospitality all of which can be put on a CV to impress future employers.</p>

<p>It focusses on work experience which is a fantastic way to gain knowledge of an industry and how it works while learning skills that can be applied to College at the same time.</p>

<p>Hospitality learners will learn in Weston College’s state-of-the-art training kitchen called The Grove. This kitchen is fully equipped with all of the facilities that will be used in industry. The Grove also features a spacious dining room and a bar, offering students a chance to learn about setting and waiting tables.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Learners have a monthly masterclass from top chefs from the local area. These classes teach a wide range of skills and disciplines including butchery, sausage making and working with seafood. Chefs who have provided masterclasses in the past include Martin Felstead, from Greenway Farm and Mark Chapman - the Executive Chef from Gambas Tapas Bar, Bristol.</p>

<p>Dan Flannagan from the Liberation Group said “We are proud of our Somerset roots and having grown our business in this area, a relationship with Weston College seemed a natural step. Weston has a superb set up and our partnership will provide a huge benefit for us as a business to develop future talent, but also for learners to gain vital experience and develop the skills needed for industry.”</p>

<p>For more information on how to apply to Weston College and join our awesome Hospitality Career Excellence Hub, <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/hospi… here</a>.</p>

<p><img alt="Hospitality team" data-align="right" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a613e6e2-675e-4c95-8052-08814d84fcc3" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%286%29.jpeg" />Last week hospitality learners had the opportunity to chat with TV Personality and Luxury Hotelier, Alex Polizzi. Alex was joined by Head of Food and Beverage at the Polizzi Collection, Sergio Paolo, as both answered questions about the industry, to inspire the next generation of hospitality workers.</p>

<p>Alex, a renowned English hotelier, and star of The Hotel Inspector is a hugely successful businesswoman in the world of hospitality. Recently, Alex opened the doors to a camera crew as she documented the journey of renovating then opening a Grade II listed inn through Lockdown.</p>

<p>Her latest venture, The Star; a 30-bedroom boutique hotel in Sussex opened successfully in Easter 2020 despite numerous challenges including renovation delays, staffing, and working around lockdown.</p>

<p>Sandra Bull, Dean of Faculty for Hospitality and Catering at Weston College, said: “It was fantastic to welcome Alex and Sergio to the college, as they shared about the highs and lows of working in a constantly evolving hospitality sector.</p>

<p>“Our learners enjoyed hearing from two people that have such a wealth of experience, and they were all inspired by the talk.</p>

<p>“The partnership won’t stop there either, we will be working collaboratively with Alex to ensure that we are delivering training needed by employers and preparing our learners for life in the industry.”</p>

<p>Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College Group, added: “The hospitality industry has had a really difficult time over the last 18 months, and both locally and nationally, there has been a shortage of staff.</p>

<p>“Through our Career Excellence Hub at Weston College, we feel it is important to connect learners with the industry, working closely with employers to co-design our programmes, and also deliver sessions to our learners. We believe that this will prepare our learners with the skills needed, not just to enter the workplace, but to have long and successful careers.</p>

<p>“It was great to meet Alex and Sergio, who offered such wonderful advice to people getting ready to enter the industry – proving that you can create a career from your passion. I’m looking forward to continuing this partnership and seeing the exciting progress of our hospitality learners.”</p>

<p>Discover more about our hospitality courses, below:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/hospi…;
<li><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/apprenticeships?utm_source=ma…;
<li><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-adults?utm_source=mai… courses</a></li>
</ul>

<p>As part of the <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/hospi… Excellence Hub in hospitality and catering</a>, 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.</p>

<p>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:</p>

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

<p>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.</p>

<p>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).</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>"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!”</p>

<p>Mark’s final words to future chefs is “Cook with Passion.”</p>

<p>Find out more about being a Chef Apprentice:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/hospi… and Apprenticeships</a> for school leavers</li>
<li>Next <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/news-and-events/events">open event</a></li>
</ul>