How it all began...
The real catalyst behind Fifteen Cornwall was a lady called Betty Hale, who in 2004 worked as part of the community regeneration department of Restormel Borough Council.
Having seen the success of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen project in London, Betty felt that Cornwall, which is one of the most deprived areas in the country and suffers from low economic production, would benefit enormously from having a Fifteen restaurant in the county.
With the help of brothers Will and Henry Ashworth, owners of the The Hotel and Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay, Betty approached the Fifteen Foundation team in London to try and convince them that Cornwall, in particular Watergate Bay, would be the perfect location for a second Fifteen restaurant in the UK. Will and Henry offered the upstairs of the Beach Hut as a venue and at this point, serious talks began.
In early 2005, the deal was done to bring Fifteen to Watergate Bay, and building work began at the beginning of 2006 to refurbish the upper level of the Beach Hut into a restaurant with an open plan kitchen, amazing sea views and which could seat up to 100 diners, plus another 12 in a private dining room. Builders worked tirelessly day and night over a period of four months to ensure that the restaurant would be open for a set launch date in May 2006.
A big recruitment drive for directors, managers, chefs, and front of house staff for the restaurant and trustees, and staff for the Cornwall Foundation of Promise took place. Once these teams were established, recruitment began to find a group of disadvantaged young individuals from Cornwall who were looking to turn their lives around and make a new career for themselves in the catering industry.
Over 300 applications were received for the first intake of Fifteen Cornwall apprentices and whittling them down to just 21 was a tough task, but by January 06, our first year of apprentices had been chosen and were ready to embark on their Fifteen Cornwall journey, the first stage of which included four months at Cornwall College gaining their NVQ1 in Catering Studies.
Nine months after the Fifteen Foundation in London agreed to franchise a Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall, and after so much hard work from everyone involved, Fifteen Cornwall opened it’s doors to the world on 18th May 2006 with Jamie Oliver leading the launch celebrations. The world’s media turned up for the occasion and the apprentices, thrust into the glare of the media spotlight, took it all in their stride!
Since that day, we have served over 200,000 diners and have graduated 2 groups of apprentices from the Fifteen programme, with a third now half way through their training and a fourth, eagerly waiting in the wings to take over next year! There’ s 26 of them and they’re starting college in November and you’ll be able to see them in action in the Fifteen Cornwall kitchen from February.
Like any new business there have been many changes along the way and we’ve learned some valuable lessons. In September 07 Dave Meneer, formally Marketing Director of the Eden Project was appointed to the new role of CEO Dave oversees the smooth running of the charity and restaurant which is no easy task.
The tension between operating a top class restaurant whilst also developing an exceptional social enterprise is not only a continual challenge; it is healthy, essential and the factor that makes Fifteen Cornwall unique and as we move rapidly through our third year, we intend to keep delivering on our promise to turn lives around and help young people to fulfil their potential.
We look forward to welcoming many more diners and apprentices through the doors at Fifteen Cornwall in the future.
