Careers in the kitchen on menu

LEARNING the trade . . . with chef Mike Jennings

"MASTERCHEF" maestro Simon Wood sent his head chef to Hopwood Hall College to scout out young talent for his new restaurant.

Mike Jennings visited the college's Riverside Restaurant in Rochdale on behalf of the 2015 winner, from Chadderton, to look for budding young chefs to join the new venture, Wood, set to open in Manchester later month.

Students who achieved a Level 3 qualification in catering were invited to speak to Mike and Wood general manager James Cunningham about their futures and career opportunities in the industry.

James said: "To be the best in this industry is incredibly challenging and if we can offer opportunities while candidates are still young, it gives that bit of a head start in development when they have worked in a kitchen with standards as high as ours.

"The students Mike and I spoke to have shown great promise, it's a great sign for the future of this industry when colleges like Hopwood can produce young talent like this.

"Wood operates at the high end of restaurants, so we need to make sure we're recruiting team members who work at that same level. Hopefully the students will meet that calibre."