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other voices Fifteen is a great concept. The sourcing trips are something I am particularly envious of. To take young city people to see where their food comes from is truly inspirational and gets them thinking about the provenance of the commodities they use. Fifteen sometimes falls short of getting the right people on the programme. While I understand and support the concept of taking disadvantaged young people on the programme, a more thorough selection process would ensure that those started have a love of food and real desire to be a chef. The general principle of disadvantaged youngsters being placed on the programme should be maintained. But this should not be the only criteria applied. By getting the right people the reputation of the graduates and therefore Fifteen will continue to grow within the hospitality industry.” Kevin Cleaver runs Lewisham College’s Hospitality and Catering School
What makes Fifteen different from other restaurants, are the young people it supports. When Fifteen is discussed with external parties, the order of conversation usually begins with talk of the young people and the lives changed by the Fifteen project, closely followed by the fabulous food and finally money and business. Internally however this order is reversed, with the priorities being money, food, then the needs of the young people. This internal reversal of priority may well be necessary in order to generate revenue to run the project, but this has an effect on status and participation. Fifteen needs to identify where it currently sits on the scale between – ‘adults have total control’ at the bottom, and ‘Young people make all the decisions’, being at the top. The midway point on this scale is; ‘Young people become partners in decision making’. Work has already begun in this area, and a graduate of Fifteen currently sits on the Fifteen Foundation board. More work needs to be done to include apprentices in day to day management decisions, as their definition of need and priority and solutions, are often different than those put forward by the ‘grown ups’.
Tony Elvin worked at Fifteen managing the apprenticeship from 2002 – 2007
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Fifteen: Life in the present tense