Marco Pierre White has branded catering colleges as ‘farcical’ and ‘a waste of life’ at the launch of a new advertising campaign promoting hospitality apprenticeships.
Speaking at the National Apprenticeship Service’s (NAS) launch of the campaign at White's St. James's restaurant Wheeler's, the former Michelin-starred chef dismissed catering colleges as giving students a false sense they are ready to work in a professional kitchen.
“If students can get their certificates at college, it only proves they can absorb information, nothing more,” he said. “It’s not a real restaurant environment; this farce service thing they do isn’t real. When I was at college a lot of people in my class were ladies of 60 years old who were learning about home cooking. It hasn’t changed much since then; it’s not in touch with the modern world. The only way to learn my industry is to roll up your sleeves and push yourself.
“Students going to catering colleges are wasting two years of their life.”
Great advocate for campaign
The celebrity chef, who chose to do an apprenticeship himself after being removed from Harrogate and Westminster colleges because ‘it bored me senseless’, was chosen by the NAS to help encourage young people to consider the option of an apprenticeship.
Simon Waugh, chief executive of the NAS, said White was a ‘shining light’ in the apprenticeship community, and would be a ‘great advocate’ for the campaign.
“Marco’s success is proof of what apprenticeships can do for young people,” he said.
The campaign, which consists of three viral films, show White operating a burger van as a depiction of how White’s life could have been if he had not done an apprenticeship.
Defending catering colleges
Gerry Shurman, head of course at South Downs College, Restaurant magazine’s reigning College Restaurant of the Year, hit back at White’s comments, claiming the standard of catering education had improved over the last few years.
“The new 7100 series City and Guilds VRQ qualifications have introduced a standard of cooking that has been missing since the NVQs came in,” he said. “Youngsters are growing up between 16-18 and to thrust them into the busy world of commercial restaurants is not always the best thing. Colleges have the opportunity to not only give students skills in cookery, which we do very well, but to educate and train them, allow them to mature and give them the confidence to go into the industry when they’re ready.
“I totally disagree with Marco that college restaurants are farcical. We are running our restaurant and café as professional operations and many colleges are doing that. Heston Blumenthal said our restaurant wouldn’t be out of place in the West End, and even the great Marco Pierre White doesn’t have to run a business with 100 per cent trainees.
“I would invite Marco to visit our restaurant and then he can make up his own mind.”
Watch our exclusive video interview with Marco Pierre White at the launch of the NAS campaign.