UK's First Chinese Food Diploma Launched as Industry Experiences Decline in Skilled Chefs
Fears of a demise of the Chinese restaurant industry due to lack of chefs has led to the launch of the first fully regulated Chinese-specific catering course in the UK.
Backed by the Chinese Culinary Association and Tianjin Food Group, the new Chinese Culinary Arts course, which starts next month, will look to secure the industry's future by producing 'homegrown' Chinese chefs in the UK.
The course - a mix of online learning and practical assessments - is aimed at current and aspiring chefs in the catering industry that want to enhance their skills and forge a successful career path in this sector.
It is also targeted at restaurant and hotel owners looking to increase their existing dining options as well as saving them upwards of £15,000 to recruit a Chinese chef from the Far East.
Why is the course needed?
The current recruitment process for Chinese chefs is time consuming, costly and has to overcome UK government red tape, which prevents the recruitment of chefs for Chinese takeaways - which is the UK's favourite in a £30bn industry.
At present, most Chinese chefs are recruited from overseas with owners using recruitment agents to find chefs willing to relocate to the UK. This comes at a considerable expense, which is estimated at £15,000 per chef. This does not take into account the substantial salaries that also have to be paid.
As a result of this, many restaurants are feeling the heat and facing the risk of closure because they cannot afford the sums required.
This course, the first step, aims to alleviate that by ensuring a stream of Chinese chefs - at a much-reduced cost - trained in the art of Chinese food.
It is envisaged this will re-energise the industry as a showcase for Chinese food and provide the stimulus for new business opportunities.
With growing new opportunities throughout the world for qualified chefs as well as to staff the many Chinese kitchens of Great Britain; chefs will be trained to the highest standards using the latest cooking technology designed to make kitchens greener more energy efficient, while addressing the health and well-being issues associated with old style traditional kitchens.
David Pedrette MD of Target Catering Equipment, says:
"This is the way forward for training providers to work with industry from around the world developing a global work force qualified to the highest standards".
What is the Chinese Culinary Arts course?
The course - which will follow Lu Ban workshop principles http://www.pameducation.com/portfolio/sino/ - has received significant inward investment from China to ensure that it will produce chefs of the future.
It is a level three qualification managed by Coventry-based PAM Education and run in conjunction with Chichester College Group and Tianjin 2nd School of Cuisine Food Group. Successful completion will secure a Diploma in Chinese Culinary Arts.
Course content is delivered primarily online, including weekly webinars, with practical assessments at Crawley College at the end of each term.
Topics include:
- The origin and development of Chinese food culture
- How to prepare and cook Chinese cold dishes
- How to prepare and cook Chinese hot dishes
- History and skills for making Chinese pastries
- History and skills required for Chinese dough modelling
- Development of skills for cutting, shaping and presentation
- Awareness of the importance of seasonal and regional variations
Russell Grocott, PAM Education founder and director, says;
"Our work with the Tianjin School of cuisine has escalated from what started as the design of an Education programme into a mission to reintroduce authentic Chinese Culinary Arts across the UK."
"Our programme provides budding Chinese chefs and restaurant owners with the opportunitiy to learn skills and gain a regulated qualification recognised world-wide supported by the finest Master Chefs based in China."
"Students can complete the learning programmes and practice the skills from the comfort of their own kitchens. We have fantastic support for the National Cuisine Associations of Tianjin and China and we are thrilled to introduce this unique opportunity into the UK."
Julie Kapsalis, Managing Director (Commercial) for the Chichester College Group, says:
"We are delighted to launch this brand new course, in a unique, on-line learning format."
"Part of an exciting new partnership, the project has great potential for students and tutors at Crawley College and in China to learn from each other and to develop new skills."
"Working closely with international educational institutions is important to Crawley College and to the Chichester College Group as a whole - we want to see the group develop at home and abroad."
The course commences on Monday 24th September 2018. Registration is open now with limited places available.
For more information see the following:
Course website:
https://www.chineseculinaryart.co.uk
or
Contact Jo Chappel, Head of Learning (Service Industries) of Crawley College on 01293 442 466 or by emailing on jchappel@crawley.ac.uk
Asian Restaurant Kitchens - It's Out with Tradition!
Target's Managing Director, David Pedrette, discusses why traditional Asian Oriental kitchens need to evolve in order to be successful.
Producing commercial kitchens for almost 30 years, Target Catering Equipment has seen many changes within the Asian Oriental Cuisine sector and experiences on a daily basis the hurdles that the industry is faced with, whether it's restrictions from local councils, staffing issues or energy costs. As equipment manufacturers and design consultants, it's Targets job to find solutions to overcome these issues. Here, Target's Managing Director, David Pedrette, discusses the future of Asian Oriental kitchens.
Asian Oriental cuisine is a favourite on British high streets, however, is fiercely competitive, with an estimated two businesses closing down each week, business owners are always looking at ways to increase profit and maximise output, without compromising on quality and consistency. There are many factors which contribute to the success of an Asian Oriental business many of which can be found inside the kitchen.
Gone are the days when businesses started up on a shoestring with minimal regulation and compliance issues, using a mix of used, second hand affordable equipment that was unregulated and inefficient, usually hived off from kitchen refurbishments and rescued from the scrap yard.
As a result of lack of regulations over the years high streets have become overcrowded, with rental and business rated climbing businesses now have to consider smaller premises. With this comes the challenge of installing a working kitchen that makes the most of the available space, is efficient and does not compromise the quality of the finished product.
Planning Your Commercial Kitchen -
Kitchens must be compliant to all regulations and restrictions; with modern regulations becoming ever more stringent and governing bodies carrying out regular checks to regulate compliance, sourcing equipment which complies with regulations is a major factor.
The amount of regulations you are required to comply with starts with the type of fuel you decide to use within the kitchen. Traditionally, gas has always been the favoured fuel within the Asian Oriental market. however, with the recent development of commercial induction cooking technology there is now a more powerful, controllable and efficient alternative to gas, which is not burdened with the regulations as attached to gas equipment.
With all electric commercial kitchens, ventilation systems become smaller, more efficient, cheaper to install and maintain. Regulations are minimised meaning compliance with local authority regulations and DEFRA requirements becomes easier.
One of the major stigmas that are linked to working in an Asian Oriental kitchen is the environment. When using gas fired open burners, Asian Oriental kitchens are amongst the hottest commercial kitchens to be working in. However, when induction technology is used, there is no waste heat being given off into the atmosphere, all the heat and energy goes diectly into the product in the pan, resulting in a substantially cooler kitchen for chefs to work in.
Induction technology also dramatically reduces fuel costs, not only do you remove the waste heat from the kitchen, energy is only consumed when the pan is on the hob. With instantaneous heat, burners do not need to be left on to heat up, minimising energy consumption, reducing fuel costs and speeding up cooking times.
With the number of fully trained, qualified, Asian Oriental chef's rapidly depleting, running a business and kitchen which attracts the best staff has never been more important. This continual lack of skill has inevitably resulted in the decrease in qualtiy of end product thus over the years resulting with the negative reputation that the industry is often tarnished with by younger generations.
In order to remove the stigma that comes with working within the Asian Oriental industry working conditions and tradition has to change, it's time to embrace modern technology.
Business owners are now able to employ staff that may lack in skill, whilst remaining certain that the end product will not be compromised, and will be of a consistent quality no matter which chef is in the kitchen purely by implementing automation and programming into cooking processes. These easy to use systems are more often image controlled and are therefore easy to use by people of varying ethnicities, without any confusion, thus addressing the ongoing crisis of lack of skilled staff, giving head chefs the opportunity to expand their skills and develop menus trying out new ideas with the kitchen.
Once the equipment has been chosen it's important to get the right layout. Having the correct layout will ensure flow within the kitchen and minimise the possibilities of cross contamination.
This is the secret to business success, getting the right equipment and systems in place to optimise output without compromising quality while delivering great service and hospitality in comfortable on trend surroundings.
Target's 5 Top Tips:
Make sure your kitchen complies with the latest regulations
Consider which type of fuel will be best for you
Trial equipment before making decisions
Think about long term running costs
Invest in your business at the start for long term success