Compass brings Junior Chefs Academy front-of-house

Compass Group's lauded Junior Chefs Academy programme has been extended to cover front-of-house.

The Junior Restaurant Academy (JRA), which is being funded by Compass and the Savoy Education Trust, is being trialled at London's Westminster Kingsway College.

A weekend course, it is aimed at 14 to 16 year-olds and teaches front-of-house and hospitality skills and includes mixology and barista training.

The first graduates of the pilot are expected by Easter with plans to establish it as the third tier to the existing JCA programme.

Mike Burton, human resources director of Compass UK & Ireland, said: "We know the JCA format works. 68% of those taking part in JCA move on to full-time food service and hospitality education.

We needed to round off the experience for students and to bring them front-of-house was the next, natural step."

JCA runs at 15 UK colleges and since 2003 has produced more than 2,000 graduates, picking up awards from CAF and Springboard as well as the BITC Big Tick.

It was pioneered by Professor David Foskett of London's Thames Valley University at the college's premises in Ealing as an extension to the Academy of Culinary Arts' Adopt-a-School programme.

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By Chris Druce