Last Friday, a few of us dusted off our gowns and suits (which had not seen the light of day for nearly two years!) to represent THE PIG at the ‘Purple Awards’ at The Savoy.
The glitzy annual ceremony hosted by Umbrella, our Kitchen & Front of House apprenticeship provider, is all about celebrating the brightest prospects in our industry, with over 500 apprentices on their books!
More than 45 apprentices at all levels were shortlisted and recognised for their commitment to hospitality; with TV and radio presenter Dave Berry handing out awards to those handpicked by a panel of judges, made up of key industry figures and the team at Umbrella.
Four of our apprentices were finalists (which is a huge achievement in itself!) – Chloe Blanks, Waitress at THE PIG-at Bridge Place; Rosie Downing, Kitchen Apprentice at THE PIG-at Combe; Matt Wise, Restaurant Supervisor at THE PIG-on the beach and Aleks Ostafinska, Junior Sous Chef at THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay.
However, we are delighted to share that no one left London empty handed! Chloe, Rosie and Aleks were all announced winners of their category – Best Level 2 Team Member, Best Level 2 Kitchen Apprentice and Best Level 3 Kitchen Apprentice respectively; whilst Matt achieved Highly Commended for Best Level 3 Supervisor.
"THE PIG hotels were the big winners of the night, taking home three awards."
– The Caterer
Finalists within their categories included apprentices from The Ritz, The Goring, Firmdale and The Dorchester to name a few. It was fantastic to be back alongside our hospitality peers and we could not be more delighted for our Apprentices, who thoroughly deserved their wins – well done team!
We’d be nothing without our people at THE PIG, which is why we pioneer growing and developing our teams personally and professionally with our Chef Academy, Front of House Academy and Budding Entrepreneur programmes. Keep reading if you want to hear a little more about them...
Our bespoke Chef Academy covers not just the essential skills and knowledge desired by aspiring Chefs, but our apprentices also experience all things that make THE PIG unique – trips to meet with local suppliers and understand how they work, growing produce within our kitchen gardens, foraging, advance butchery and even beekeeping!
Our Front of House Academy is open to those within Reception, Bar, Wine, Restaurant, Reservations and Housekeeping teams, at a range of levels for team members, supervisors or managers. They attend monthly training on subjects including leadership, finance, HR, project management, customer service and achieve a nationally recognised qualification after 13 months.
The Budding Entrepreneur programme is aimed to develop our managers of the future who are able to run our hotels… or their own one day! A 3-year tailored scheme where ‘BEs’ rotate around the areas of the business whilst being mentored by our directors and gaining invaluable experience along the way. Many alumni BEs are now in senior positions across THE PIGs and Lime Wood.
We’re always on the look out for new people who are keen to learn and experience our exciting industry. We look for happy, passionate, generous and confident people – so if this sounds like you, or someone you know, get in touch as we would love to chat to you!
Contact our Recruitment Advisor - rebecca.symons@limewoodgroup.com
