Whipping Up Excellence: Johns Foundation Cookery School Fuels Skill Expansion and Mellors Staff Development!

Executive Development Chef, John Connolly has been trailing a new added value service, offering unit-based staff the opportunity to learn and develop their culinary skills in a 1 day course.

Throughout the summer, John has been travelling across the North of England and visiting some lucky Mellors units to deliver this foundation cooking course.

This initiative aims to help equip school catering staff with essential cooking skills, empowering them to provide nutritious and delicious meals to our customers. The course seeks to build upon existing skills, learning new techniques to ensure every staff member is consistent in their cooking practices to ensure the best end result.

As the food landscape continues to evolve, Mellors recognises the vital role that we play in nourishing young minds. The Cookery Course has been thoughtfully designed to provide catering staff with the fundamental cooking skills and knowledge required to create wholesome, balanced, and appealing meals for students.

Key highlights of our School Catering Skills Program include:

1. Hands on Cooking Training – The course offers comprehensive hands-on training in foundation cooking techniques, and knife skills. 
2. Nutritional Education – An emphasis will be placed on preparing fresh fruit and vegetables, ensuring dishes contain plenty of nutrition. 
3. Menu Development and Presentation – Providing knowledge and skills to develop and present food aesthetically and appealing to our customers.
4. Reducing Waste – The training covers how we can produce great food, whilst managing our portion control and minimising food waste, without compromising on quality.

At Mellors, we believe that investing in the skills of our staff is an investment into the wellbeing of our future generations and helps aid continual staff development. 

John Connolly, Mellors Executive Development Chef said,

“The course is a fantastic opportunity for catering teams to sharpen their culinary skills. I hope this course will inspire our catering team to cook with confidence and deliver better looking and great tasting food as a result to help nourish our customers.”

Tracey from Greenside Primary School said, 

“I have picked up lots of new ideas and have really enjoyed the days cooking course. I have learnt new ways to present food and I’m looking forward to trying this in my own school kitchen.”

Another participant added, “It has been refreshing to meet other catering teams across Mellors and learning about how their kitchen operation works.”

Ray from The Dean Trust Ardwick School said, 

“The class has been very informative. I have learnt lots of handy tips including roasting my veg for a little longer, adds a shine which brings the colours out better and makes the dish more appealing, hopefully leading to more children eating vegetables.”