Operational Empowerment
Chef Craft Skills Scholarship
There are a variety of opportunites in our chef craft skills scholarships. Sometimes we have a group interactive masterclass, and sometimes chefs do a stage at a different restaurant where they can learn new skills or techniques or see a different specialist area in operation.
Chef Craft Skills 2023 (took place in Feb 2024)
Plant Based Masterclass with Edinburgh School of Food and Wine
More and more people are choosing plant based options in restaurants, for a variety of reasons - from choosing to avoid animal products, allergies, sustainability, to healthy eating - so we created a one day masterclass for chefs to give them some new ideas and knowledge in this area.
Thank you to chef Ashley from Edinburgh School of Food and Wine for creating this fantastic plant based training day for our group. The session looked at creating nutritious and well balanced plant based dishes that look good on the plate, making dishes using the entire vegetable for no waste, and a plant based dessert.
It was a mix of demonstration and practical, so the chiefs got the chance to practise what they had seen and learned, and this interactive masterclass saw the group producing a delicious menu:
Tomato, mushroom & polenta boudin, braised, cannellini beans, gremolata.
Celeriac involtini, cashew cream, pangritata.
Coconut panna cotta, sour cherry consommé.
It was also great to hear the group bouncing ideas off each other and sharing their own knowledge, learning from each other.
As the group were from hotels and restaurants from all around Scotland, the experience included an overnight at the nearby Norton House Hotel, where the group got to enjoy a lovely dinner in their Brasserie. This was a good chance to get to know each other and talk about food and cheffing before the training day. And for chefs, trying out the menu somewhere new is always a learning experience in itself!
Everyone seemed to really enjoy the experience, and find it useful. Here are some scholar comments.
Conor said: “This was very informative and useful, I have already started implementing the skills learned. We have use this to improve our afternoon teas and it has inspired new ideas for the new upcoming menu change.”
Rita said: “Ash was a fantastic and knowledgeable teacher. I loved that he had great answers for all the questions. Showing us how to do things and letting us practise with supervision, for me, this is the best way for learning. The dishes were great, I learned new techniques and to think outside of the box.”
Sharmishta said: “It was an extremely enriching experience, with an excellent stay at Norton House Hotel and a superb learning experience the next day at ESFW. It was lovely to meet like-minded people, hear a variety of perspectives not just from chef Ashley but also other scholars. The celeriac "croissant" was extremely cool and definitely my highlight! This has helped me massively, not just technique, but better understanding the gap in vegetarian options in restaurants. As I work in a vegetarian restaurant, I had my version of the polenta boudin we learnt as a special and it went down a treat!”
Chef Craft Skills 2023 (took place in Jan 2024)
Chocolate Masterclass with Shona from Taystful
Pastry is always a popular area for development for our chef scholars, looking to gain new skills in this department known for its attention to detail. We had a group of chefs from around Scotland keen to work on chocolate, so we asked Shona from Taystful to create a 2 day experience which would provide our scholars with useful knowledge and experience in this wonderful world!
Day one focussed on beautifully filled artisan chocolates, including the intricate skills of cocoa butter colouring and multi layers, and a modern snacking bar with a pate de fruit element. Day two looked at delicate decorations for plated desserts and entremets, using a wide variety of techniques to lift sweet treats to another level of culinary excellence.
Huge thanks to the Apex Hotel in Glasgow for letting us use their kitchen for this. Also to the team at Hazel restaurant at the new AC Hotel by Marriott where we had a delicious dinner! It’s nice for chefs to get the chance to experience other restaurants, and network socially over dinner.
Shona said: “What a fantastic 2 days with this sharp group of chefs! Day one concentrated on using cocoa butter colours and multi layer chocolates and day two we made lots of chocolate decorations for patisserie. We table tempered, covered ganache, pate de fruit, caramels, confit/gel, not to mention discussing trouble shooting, sugar and fat bloom, cooling and refrigeration, air circulation, humidity and so much more! Well done to you all chefs on your great creations, it was brilliant to work with you.”
William said: “My scholarship was an incredible experience. We spent 2 days working alongside a brilliant chocolatier. The highlight for me was learning about how to properly temper chocolate and getting to take home each finished product. Shona was a fountain of knowledge and a fantastic chef. We have just launched a new afternoon tea based heavily around chocolate, so this will give me a chance to use my tempering skills to make decorations. With upcoming menu changes I will be creating petit fours for the guests to enjoy with their teas and coffees. This is a great opportunity to showcase the skills I have learnt and an excuse to continue working hard to improve on my skills so I can pass these on to others.”
Ingrida said: “I really enjoyed doing everything! I have worked in pastry for many years but I had not done much work with chocolate. I learned many new techniques, colouring chocolate, fillings, and decorations. I will use these new skills to decorate our afternoon tea and desserts.”
Craig said: “It was great to be taught by a skilled chocolatier who is so knowledgeable and passionate about their craft, and willing to pass on that knowledge. Shona was a brilliant teacher, I have learned a lot in the two days. I will apply my new found skills to enhance new and current desserts on our menu, and in the near future try and introduce chocolate petite fours at the restaurant to enhance our guest experience. It was also a highlight meeting other like minded chefs who are passionate about what they do!”
Craft Scholarship 2017
Aisha Elshani, Head Chef at Honeycomb and Co in Edinburgh
"I’m currently Head Chef at Honeycomb and Co in Bruntsfield in Edinburgh. I joined them in April ahead of them opening in May 2017. Before that I worked at The Scottish Café and Restaurant.
I work in an environment where keeping up to date with current trends is very important and I want to do this to the best of my ability so I need to keep learning and to keep pushing my own boundaries. I was delighted to take part in the HIT Pastry Masterclass scholarship in 2015, and this year I applied for a Craft scholarship to help me improve my overall techniques and skills.
I also want others to benefit from my learning, so any knowledge I gain I continue to pass on to others through the night class I teach once a week. It’s great for me to have the opportunity to do that, as I really feel I’ve given back to the industry and am helping others perfect their own cooking skills.
I always like to be inspired by the best people the industry has to offer, so it was great to get the opportunity to work with BBC Bake Off Crème de la Crème winners Helen Vass and Mark Tilling who were creating the dessert for the HIT POETS Lunch at the Doubletree by Hilton in Glasgow.
Producing a dessert for over 500 people isn’t easy! They created a Madagascar dark chocolate mousee with Scottish raspberry jellies, pistachio air sponge, and macerate raspberries.
Helen and Mark were great teachers and were positive throughout, you felt like part of their team even though we had only just met. The main lesson was to be very well prepared when producing something for so many people! The dessert was stunning and I learned numerous techniques. It was amazing to see the finished 550 plated desserts, and I can't wait to recreate it for my customers.
I’d definitely recommend a craft scholarship to any chef looking to improve their techniques or learn new skills, as it’s an experience that can only help you in your quest to be the best in a professional kitchen!
Helen Vass added: “I am so proud to be involved with HIT Scotland as they are a charity that have supported me from the start of my career and now I feel it is my time to pass on what I have learned to the future chefs of our industry. Aisha was great fun to work with and so keen to learn new things that she can apply in her current job. Any time Aisha needs help or has any questions, I will always be open to help her out.”
Aisha must be doing well, she was spotted doing one of the pastry demonstrations at the Foodies festival!
Craft Scholarship 2017
Ross Cochrane, Head Chef at the Prince Charles Restaurant, Rothesay Rooms in Ballater
"I was delighted to receive a HIT Scotland craft scholarship for winning North East of Scotland Chef of the Year. The competition requires you to prepare and cook three courses which are on the menu at your own establishment, using North East of Scotland produce, in season, and sourced from local suppliers, and it was fantastic to win this.
I’ve been cooking for 14 years, and have worked with some fantastic chefs. I started my career in Aberdeen, then spent some time working under a London chef who encouraged me to head south, where I spent a few months working for Gordon Ramsay. With a young family back in Aberdeen, I felt I wanted to continue my career in Scotland, so returned to climb the Aberdeen chef ladder. I spent some time working in St Andrews with Masterchef finalist Scott Davies, who know heads up the award winning Three Chimneys in Skye, and then became Head Chef at the Palm Court Hotel, where I won the North East of Scotland Chef of the Year competition.
For my scholarship, I asked if I could spend a week at Tom Kerridge’s Hand and Flowers gastro pub in Marlow, the only UK pub to be awarded two stars in the Michelin guide. I’ve followed Tom’s food style for many years, and it would give me the opportunity to see another fantastic chef in action, see how they put together menus, and what makes them special enough to gain 2 Michelin stars.
It was an eye opening experience for me, and I learned a lot of new and different techniques which I plan to use in my own cooking. The attention to detail and the passion that goes into a 2 Michelin star kitchen was something I’ll never forget.
Working with top class chefs has been a great inspiration for me, and no matter how long you’ve been a chef, you should be continually learning and updating your skills, to help the kitchen you work in be the best it can be. In September I became Head Chef at the Rothesay Rooms in Ballater, owned by Prince Charles, so I hope to take all I have learned over the years into this new role, and encourage those working for me to show their potential and become great chefs.
I’d definitely recommend a HIT craft scholarship, as you learn so much, and these experiences help grow a chef’s passion and commitment to the industry. So get applying!"