Lifetime Learning

ACADEMY OF CULINARY ARTS - LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Sara Jayne Stanes reminds us why the Academy of Culinary Arts is so relevant in today’s packed culinary landscape.

Founded in 1980, the Academy of Culinary Arts is Britain’s leading professional association of Head Chefs, Pastry Chefs, Restaurant Managers and quality suppliers. Members of the Academy of Culinary Arts are united in the common purpose of supporting the future of the hospitality industry through education and training and career development. 

The Academy is privately funded by membership fees, sponsorship and donations without which it would not exist nor continue to make a difference to the lives of so many young people and their future in the industry.

Academicians, Associate Members and Friends

Membership of the Academy is open to individuals or companies in three different categories. Academicians are Head Chefs, Pastry Chefs and Restaurant Managers, over the age of 28, working in Britain while Associate Members are suppliers of quality foods, wines, services and equipment to the hospitality industry. Friends would be anyone who supports the Academy’s ethos but is not eligible to become an Academician.

Anyone joining the Academy would be aware of its objectives, which are to:

• Secure the future of the hospitality industry through the education and training of young people and the provision of career opportunities
• Recognise and reward talent and skill within the hospitality industry
• Raise standards and awareness of food, food provenance, cooking and service through example and education
• Connect like-minded people who support the Academy’s ethos

In turn, the Academy’s objectives are met through its education and training initiatives:

• Chefs Adopt a School
• The FEAST (Food Education at School Today) Campaign
• The Academy of Culinary Arts Apprenticeships
• The Annual Awards of Excellence
• The Master of Culinary Arts
• The Mutton Renaissance

A leading voice, a collection of initiatives

Recognised as one of the industry’s leading voices on education, training and carer development, the Academy of Culinary Arts is a not for profit organisation whilst Chefs Adopt a School is a registered charity.  The following sections describe briefly the Academy’s various initiatives.

Chefs Adopt a School

Chefs Adopt a School (CAAS) believes that every child should have the opportunity to learn about the importance of food and its significance in our lives. Founded in 1990 by the Academy, CAAS is a national charity which teaches children about food, food provenance, healthy eating, hygiene and cookery.  Professional chefs deliver sessions in the classroom which range in content from the four tastes and five senses to knife skills, food growing, nutrition and advanced practical cookery. 

CAAS has adopted an innovative approach to tackling health inequalities by giving children the knowledge to improve their own health and well-being as well as supporting parents and teachers to embed healthy eating messages in school and at home.  The programme aims to change children’s perception of food so they understand the roots of healthy eating and how food can impact on all aspects of their life for the better.

The charity reaches over 21,000 children every year working with primary, secondary, Special Educational Needs and hospital schools as well as pupil referral units, sports centres and food festivals. 

The objectives of CAAS are to:

• Introduce children and young people to real, fresh food through an animated approach to tasting
• Encourage children to consider food more closely and learn about food provenance and its impact on our lives and the environment
• Teach basic food preparation skills
• Encourage an understanding of the importance of healthy eating
• Offer an insight into the industry

Chefs Adopt a School has been independently evaluated twice: by the Food Policy Centre at City University in 2008 (the first academically robust evaluation of any cooking in school initiative in the UK) – the FEAST Report - and by Genecon in 2010.  Both reported the positive impact CAAS has on child cooking confidence, uptake of vegetables and awareness of a healthy diet.

FEAST and Plan For Growth

In 2007 the FEAST campaign (Food Education At Schools Today) was created by the Academy to take on the challenge of championing food education and practical cookery in primary schools.

Plan for Growth builds on the FEAST research and aims to train more chefs to deliver food education in schools with the goal of reaching half a million children per annum by year five.  In order to do this, the Academy of Culinary Arts is seeking the support of the hospitality and food industries in the form of committing their chefs to CAAS; and also the funding to deliver the Plan for Growth.

Academy of Culinary Arts Chefs Apprenticeship

This is a three year vocational course designed to give the most promising young chefs the best possible training. Throughout their training the apprentices are employed by members of the Academy or recognised employers of the same standard.

The first ACA Chefs Apprenticeship – The Academy of Culinary Arts Specialised Chefs Course at Bournemouth & Poole College – has been running since 1989 and is a three year block release programme.  The second ACA Chefs Apprenticeship is a day release programme at the University of West London which has been running since 1994.  The Academy is planning to run a third apprenticeship programme at Westminster Kingsway fr0m September 2012.

Annual Awards of Excellence

The AAE is the Academy’s yearly competition which recognises and rewards the most talented up and coming Chefs, Pastry Chefs and Waiters.  It is the only award to cover all three categories of Kitchen, Pastry and Service.  Since it began in 1983 almost 400 young people have achieved the award, setting them off on highly successful career paths.

Master of Culinary Arts

Launched in 1987, the Master of Culinary Arts (MCA) is held every four years and is seen to be the ultimate accolade, awarded in recognition of outstanding craftsmanship for Chefs, Pastry Chefs and Restaurant Managers. 

The Mutton Renaissance

Conceived in 2003 by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the Mutton Renaissance is campaigning to put mutton back onto the menu and to link farmers, abattoirs, butchers and chefs together. The campaign is jointly run with the Pastoral Alliance and the sheep industry.

Continued relevance

For over 30 years, the Academy of Culinary Arts has helped to shape the future of the hospitality profession through education. The continued influence of the Academy, the success of its initiatives, and the recognition and respect conferred by membership altogether signify an association that is as relevant today as it has always been.

Sara Jayne Stanes OBE, is Chief Executive of the Academy of Culinary Arts and Chefs Adopt a School which she has headed up for over twenty five years.  Sara was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2007 for her services to the hospitality industry and in 2011 was included in the industry’s Top 100 Women in Hospitality by People 1st and honoured with a Special Award at the Cateys – the industry’s ‘Oscars’.

Sara is Chairman of the Academy of Chocolate; an Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Cooks; a member of the Guild of Food Writers and an Honorary Fellow of the University of West London.  She is a recently recruited patron of the (new) Edge Hotel School in Colchester.  She is also a founder Trustee of the Ark Foundation and sits on a number of industry committees.   Her award winning book Chocolate the Definitive Guide is in the throes of its 2nd revision.

To find out more about the Academy of Culinary Arts visit www. academyofculinaryarts.org.uk