The Fifteen Cornwall Training Programme

The Fifteen Cornwall students have had to overcome a lot of hurdles before they begin their training with us. A number of them have had a very rocky start in life; a really difficult home life, drug and alcohol problems or entanglements with the criminal justice system. The one thing that unites the group is a desire to change their lives around and be the best they can be.

When they get to Fifteen Cornwall, we ask a lot of them. The training programme here is no easy ride; the students have to prove themselves time and again. They face a steep learning curve with new challenges to surmount every day – but when they graduate after eighteen tough months with us, they will have become outstanding chefs with exceptional careers ahead of them.

So just what do these young people have to do to become Fifteen students?

Getting through the Fifteen Cornwall selection process is not easy. For this year’s intake, 300 young people applied for twenty places. After a tough round of interviews and taste tests, a shortlist of 30 was drawn up. These 30 young people were then taken on a 3-day ‘Outward Bound’ course in Devon which included abseiling, rafting, negotiating a ‘leap of faith’ into freezing water and dealing with a simulated bomb explosion - this course was a real test of character. The final twenty were then chosen from this intrepid group – and this required difficult decisions, as so many of them showed a great deal of promise.

What does the Fifteen Cornwall training course involve?

The students begin their Fifteen Cornwall training by studying for their NVQ1 in Catering Studies at Cornwall College. While at Cornwall College they also qualify for their Health and Safety and Food Hygiene certificates. This gives them a solid basis of both academic and practical achievement; the staff at Cornwall College gives the students valuable support and encouragement during this time, building the students’ confidence and driving them to reach their potential. They are then thrown in at the deep end with a 4-week placement at a restaurant within Cornwall. For most of the students, this will be the first time they have worked in a commercial kitchen and it’s a demanding time for them.

Once the placements are completed, it’s time for the students to begin work here at Fifteen Cornwall. They have 12 months working and learning in the Fifteen Cornwall kitchen, with one day a week set aside to study for the NVQ 2 certificate. The students spend time at every station in the kitchen, learning pasta making, pastry skills, bakery, desserts and so on until they have mastered every aspect of the Fifteen Cornwall menu. This will give them everything they need to develop fantastic careers in the hospitality industry.

And then what?

The Cornwall Foundation of Promise has a long term commitment to the Fifteen Cornwall students. Once they’ve graduated, the students can always rely on the Foundation for support and help in taking their careers further, no matter how long has elapsed since their graduation.

We have no doubt that in the future we’ll be seeing Fifteen Cornwall students becoming head chefs at some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants, achieving Michelin stars and opening their own restaurants…and we can’t wait.