Fuller's hosts Chef's Guild graduation for rising kitchen stars

The ceremony, which took place at Fuller’s’ Chiswick site the George IV on Tuesday (8 September), saw chefs who had completed levels of the company’s in-house qualifications awarded for their work.

Paul Dickinson, head of food at Fuller’s, said: “The hospitality industry is like a sport – you need a team and an ethos.

“We have the right people and tonight I think we’ve demonstrated to our scholarship programme and to our food team what we can achieve.”

The ceremony also featured an appearance from acclaimed chef Pierre Koffman, who previously held three Michelin stars for his London restaurant La Tante Claire.

Levelling up​

Fuller’s Chef’s Guild scholarship encompasses three levels of examination. Level one consists of basic culinary skills and understanding processes and products, whilst level two is based around compound cooking.

Ariel Chmielowiec, chef de partie at the Prince’s Head, Richmond, who just completed his level one qualification, said: “It’s great that Fuller’s gives you this opportunity to progress.

“It was great to see Koffman, a chef with such experience – it’s great for chefs starting in their 20s to see a chef still in the kitchen in his 60s still loving it.”

Level three, which chefs in the scholarship programme usually take roughly two years after completing level two, focuses on compliance, behaviour and people management as well as further development of advanced culinary skills.

People first​

Dickinson added: “This was the first public, in-company moment to show how important our chefs are to us. The MD, the group training manager, the HR director, the ops managers, my team were all here.

“We all work hard but without the people we are nothing – the skill in the room will keep leading, mentoring and training the people for the future.”