River Cottage recognised as Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer

The team at River Cottage are celebrating after being recognised as one of the nation’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers, following the announcement at the National Apprenticeship Awards which took place during The Skills Show in Birmingham.

The prestigious Top 100 List, compiled annually by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds, recognises excellence in businesses that employ apprentices.  The list features the most exceptional apprenticeship employers from all National Apprenticeship Awards employer categories and showcases the breadth of employers who now offer apprenticeships.

River Cottage’s Chefs’ School launched in June 2013 with the purpose of delivering accredited courses and full qualifications for the professional market. At the heart of this, their award-winning apprenticeship scheme was set up with the aim to equip young chefs with culinary skills, while also delivering an underlying message of the food values: sustainability, local, seasonal, organic and wild.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, was among the many to congratulate the top employers at the Skills Show: “The Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers have clearly demonstrated how apprenticeships have a major part to play in building great businesses. I would encourage more businesses across England to follow these shining examples and find out how apprenticeships can help them build a skilled, motivated and highly qualified workforce.

“For the Top 100 Apprentice Employers recognised in 2014, their great achievement clearly outlines why apprenticeships deliver the skills that young people and the economy need.”

River Cottage Head of Education, Chris Griffin, is delighted to see Chefs’ School recognised by the National Apprenticeship Scheme: “The scheme was set up to train young people in the South West, equipping them with the qualifications they need to secure good quality work in the hospitality industry. With emphasis on ethical food sourcing and the skills to work in a professional kitchen our scheme is unlike conventional culinary courses. As a result, our graduates have since gone to work at some of the best restaurants in the UK including Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Morro and Ascot.”

To honour the news of becoming a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer, River Cottage have released a further 20 places to study an apprenticeship at the iconic farm in 2014. The course is free for 16 - 24 year olds, and combines Chef School based courses with on-the-job training across some of the South West’s top restaurants, pubs and hotels.