Lex School of Talent apprentices joined forces with apprentices from Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant and KPMG. On Friday 18th March, they sold hot food at Borough Market and raised £590 for the Fifteen Foundation, which offers young, unemployed people the experience of learning to work in the restaurant business.
The charity cook off, held to mark National Apprenticeship Week, produced mountains of delicious food. Apprentices were split into three teams. Each team had to source their own suppliers, develop their menus with professional taste testers and make sure their food fitted with Borough Market standards.
As well as raising money for charity, the apprentices got the valuable experience of running a business and working away from their familiar kitchens.
Murray Tapiki, Development Chef at Lexington said, “The apprentice challenge really put our team to the test. They had to face real business challenges, which required them to manage risk and develop their decision-making, team building and problem solving skills.
“The quality of work we see from apprentices increases year on year. Apprenticeships are important to both organisations and young people because they allow organisations to grow their own talent and young people to earn while they learn and gain a real qualification.
“The challenge was great fun and gave our team a chance to put something back into our local community. Our apprentices really rose to the challenge – they worked incredibly hard and threw all their expertise into making the event a success.”
For more information read our blog: Apprentices take on trading at Borough Market
