Village Explorer
16
17 January 2017
Warwick’s offers new part-time culinary course Hedda Mittner
W
arwick’s Chef School recently celebrated its 25th birthday and over the last quarter of a century, founder and principal Kevin Warwick has witnessed first-hand the phenomenal growth of the culinary industry. Things were very different when he established Warwick’s Chef School in 1991. “We were one of only three privately owned chef schools in the country – now I think there are more than 20 in the Western Cape alone,” says Kevin. Warwick’s continues to be one of the forerunners in culinary training, and to supply the industry with chefs who are the basics of French Classic Cuisine and contemporary style cooking. Many of their students go on to establish themselves as highly respected chefs not only at establishments in Hermanus and the rest of the country but all over the world. The chef school, based at The Classroom in The Village, has an intake of students every six months, in January and July, and offers two full-time courses towards a City & Guilds Accredited qualification – a One Year Culinary Training Course for a Diploma in Food Preparation & Culinary Art
(which includes industry work experience as part of the course) and a Six Month Culinary Training course for an International Certificate in Food Preparation & Cooking. They now also offer a third course specifically aimed at Grade 10 & 11 learners who enjoy cooking and are considering a career in the hospitality industry – a parttime One Year Culinary Training course for an International Certificate in Food Preparation & Cooking.
number of students per intake and there are only a few spots left for the first course which will commence at the beginning of February.
Students in the Warwick’s Chef School modern lab training kitchen.
“Even if students decide not to pursue a career in the culinary industry, this qualification could open doors for youngsters during their gap year or when travelling overseas. They would also have obtained practical cooking skills that will be useful throughout their lives.”
“This course is aimed at making youngsters aware that becoming a chef is a career option. It’s an opportunity to try out the industry and see if it might be something they’d like to get involved in. It also affords them the opportunity to get a qualification that allows them to start working straight after school,” says Kevin. Classes for this part-time course are offered one afternoon per week from 15:00 – 19:00, excluding school holidays. The students, who must be at least 16 years old or turning 16 during the year they are on course, will receive intensive practical and theoretical training at the chef school with the focus on the basic culinary fundamentals. To ensure quality personalised training and assessing, the school accepts a limited
Kevin says this course is also ideal for school leavers who cannot afford to give up their jobs and study full-time, and for unskilled workers who are already working in the hospitality industry and who would like to obtain a formal qualification in order to advance in their careers.
Kevin trained in Holland, France and South Africa and has worked in the hospitality industry for many years. Before launching Warwick’s Chefs School, he was head at some of the finer establishments in South Africa and owned his own restaurants and catering establishments. The chef school’s 50th graduation ceremony took place on 9 December 2016 at The Classroom: On the left is principal Kevin Warwick with students Charl van Wyk, Simon Arendze, Pieter Nortje, Ryan Mentoor, Craig Barthorpe and senior lecturer Annabell Kapot, who has been with Warwick’s since the very first course in 1991. In front are Lunique Weideman Stassen, Jade Bright and Carla Zinkfontein. The top Diploma graduate was Charl van Wyk with an aggregate of 91,7% and the top Certificate graduate was Jade Bright whose aggregate was 97,49%. PHOTO: Hansie Oosthuizen
Contact Warwick’s Chef School on 028 316 1166 or 083 978 3942 or info@warwickschefschool.co.za. For more information regarding the courses and application process visit www.warwickschefschool.co.za