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Spicing up their
act Following an offer of financial support from the Department for Education and Employment, the Asian and Oriental School for Catering (AOSC) will open in North London next February, offering NVQs to existing and potential restaurant staff. The scheme has been developed by a triumvirate of renowned restaurateurs - Cyrus Todiwala, proprietor and head chef of Café, Spice Namaste and a member of the National Advisory Council for Education and Training Targets, Atique Choudhury, who owns the award-winning Yum Yum Thai Restaurant in Stoke Newington and chaired the Hotel and Catering Training Foundation responsible for creating NVQs specifically tailored for Asian restaurant staff, and Holland Kwok, director of Ming-Ai, a Chinese charity which offers immigrants training and basic language classes, and owner of the Good Earth Restaurant Group. The three men met while participating on a committee entitled "breaking the logjam" formed by the Hospitality Training Foundation to discuss training needs in ethnic minority restaurants. Although delighted that a government agency had recognised the key problem of staff shortages and quality in Britain's estimated 20,000 ethnic catering business, they felt it "offered no solutions". "'Breaking the logjam' was getting nowhere, so we really had to do something for our industry to prosper," Mr Todiwala said. They decided to open a training college. "The structure of NVQs and so on are so complicated that employers were not motivated to tackle training. We decided to set the example. Employers are confident in us because we are employer led," Mr Todiwala added. The school will have a fully functioning kitchen and restaurant. Key trainers will shadow up to 300 trainees. Students will therefore be offered industry standard work experience while generating revenue for the college: any profit made will be reinvested in training initiatives. Malaysian, Thai, Chinese and Indian food will be on the menu and chefs will be encouraged to expand their repertoire. The main focus of the school will be to raise the standard of existing staff. However, Mr Todiwala also emphasised that the initiative would help young unemployed Asians spice up their CVs. Although some will have extensive experience working in family restaurants, few would have had any formal training or qualifications. Moreover, Damien Nolan, a director of the school, said: "It is a myth that children automatically work in the family business. Many businesses are simply crying out for qualified staff and are looking to employ people from all backgrounds." The school will cater for potential staff irrespective of ethnic origin. "Owners recognise that it is better to have someone who is motivated, interested, polite to customers, able to prepare a high quality dish in the kitchen, than to insist on another Indian or Chinese member of staff," Mr Nolan added. The school is still in the early planning stages, but has received support from all levels of government. As Mr Todiwala says: "I know Mr Blunkett is committed to lifelong learning and we are gearing ourselves towards individual learning accounts and so on." They have already attracted funding "in the six figure region" from government. As well as taking on the young unemployed under schemes like the New Deal, the school will sell block placements to private businesses. In the longer
term it is also hoped that degree modules will also be taught in the
kitchens and evening classes will be made available for recreational
cooks. In the meantime the directors are negotiating with local councils in north east London to attract further funding and guarantee premises accessible to students, who are expected to travel from across the country. Tower Hamlets is just one of the councils presently in negotiations. Home to Brick Lane, which has over 100 Asian restaurants within walking distance, the borough has an unemployment rate of 13.6% compared to the 6.5% average for Greater London, according to 1998 figures. Over a quarter of the population is Bangladeshi. Atique Choudhury said: "If you consider the contribution the Bangladeshi community of Tower Hamlets is making to the local and national economy, something should go back to it."
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