11.05.2023 Author:
Between November 2022 and January 2023, there were 146,000 vacancies in the UK hospitality sector according to the Office for National Statistics. Chefs remain amongst the most underfilled roles, and it is vital that the industry works together to help address the continued skills gap. As a leading manufacturer working with chefs and kitchen staff across the industry, we recognise our responsibility to support chef recruitment and retention. And as part of that, we’re proud to support industry competitions that recognise and rewards culinary talent across key sectors. Stuart Brereton, our public sector sales manager in the UK, explores.
In the public sector in particular, we’re using our position to help support chefs that are doing things in the right way.
One example is the NHS Chef Mentoring Event, which was hosted by MKN together with First Choice. This competition has gone from strength to strength and it gives us the opportunity to show healthcare chefs how our equipment can help in their kitchens – whether that’s futureproofing technologies, energy efficiency or multifunctionality as kitchens keep getting smaller.
We’re also proud to support the prestigious LACA School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) competition again in 2023, which kicked off with the first regional heat in April and builds up to live final at LACA Main Event on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July.
SCOTY is open to kitchen-based staff involved in the daily preparation of pupils’ meals in schools across the UK whether from a local authority or contract-catered site, managed in-house, academy school or part of a Multi-Academy Trust.
This competition gives us the chance to work first-hand with chefs in the public sector, showcase the potential of our products and help promote the possibilities to overcome common kitchen challenges. The winner will also have the chance to join us on a study tour, visiting the MKN HQ in Germany to see our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and meet members of our renowned R&D team.
We believe it’s important to work with the industry to recruit, reward and recognise talent. And we’ll continue to offer our support for industry competitions as part of our efforts to do that.
Get in touch.
If you want to know more about our products and innovations, or our support for those in the industry, speak to our team on 01329 757890.
