Here at the Academy we’ve been delighted with the response Michel Roux’s Service has received. Everyone seems to have enjoyed watching from the many people who gave up their time and premises to be part of the making of the series, to the wider hospitality industry and also from those outside the industry who now have a much deeper understanding about what goes on in front of house.
The programme has put the issue of service on the agenda – people are talking about what makes good, and bad, service and where they’ve experienced it. It has also made riveting viewing as week by week the trainees have grown in confidence as their skills set expands. Who could fail to smile at those fantastic moments from each of them when they start to enjoy what they are doing. The trainees have also learnt essential life skills along the way such as discipline, caring for others and self-confidence. As a result they look better, sound better and now have a self-belief that is rewarding to see.
Apart from the trainees, the real stars of the show have been Michel Roux and Fred Sirieix. It has been wonderful to see their gentle patience with the trainees, their inspiration and passion and the humanity they displayed when most of us would have given up. You could see all the trainees respond positively to this approach, which has been a lesson in how important it is to believe in the people you are training.
We always hoped that this programme would succeed in putting front-of-house on the map – perhaps even elevating it to the level and status chefs have achieved. We also hoped that it would help diners appreciate the skills front-of-house staff need in order to deliver that high standard of service, and the fact that good service usually goes unnoticed.
We’ve never had such a busy month at the Academy. Hits on our website have now reached over 6,000, membership enquiries are on the up, our Twitter followers have now reached over 600 and many of our existing members are asking about training. The ball is now rolling to make front of house an attractive place to work. And so it should. With the likes of fantastic role models in people like Laura Rhys at TerraVina, Peter Avis at Babylon and Ronan Sayburn at Hotel du Vin who are all following interesting, rewarding careers, the profession can now start to be taken seriously
It is our job now to maintain this momentum, and to make the most of the opportunity the programme has given us. The Academy has recently announced that it is launching a full Professional Progression Pathway for front of house employees. This gives a qualification framework for new recruits which takes them from entry level through apprenticeship, advanced apprenticeship to a foundation degree in food and beverage management.
The framework will also include opportunities from existing employees to develop higher craft, supervisory and management skills by attending short, work-based seminars, master classes and on-line learning programmes with mentor support leading to nationally recognised qualifications.
The current economic climate presents the hospitality business with opportunities to attract and re-train talented managers who have been made redundant from other industries, unemployed graduates who lack vocationally related skills and those returning to the workplace after a career break. It could equally appeal to those wishing to join some of the larger operators and secure a degree whilst employed, thereby avoiding escalating tuition fees, cutbacks in university places and rising interest on student loans. Earn while you learn has to be the way forward.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the TV series as much as we have – leave your comments below and tell us what you think. We will be following the onward progress of all of the trainees on our Academy of Food and Wine Service blog, so keep reading.
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