Top restaurateur says he would not be where he is without Moulton College

For someone who doesn’t consider himself to be a businessman, James Peck is doing a pretty good impersonation. His muti-award winning, Restaurant Ember, the No 13 Cocktail bar next door but one and now the Four Pears pub in Little Houghton, are all hot spots to visit, and all include current and former apprentices from Moulton College.

“I’ve had young people with trades in plumbing or electrics come to me to say their passion is cooking and they’re willing to start anywhere. I give them three months hard graft in the kitchen and if they do well, I put them in for an apprenticeship at Moulton College, because I know that will turn them into the people I need in my business. I’m so delighted by the results, that now I’m an ambassador for the College, and I would say to anyone in any business, if recruitment is a problem for you, you ought to be talking to them.”

James was a military chef, trained to pile calories into service personnel on the move. He says that experience is a thousand miles away from what his apprentices learn, and he’s actually quite envious.

“They get guest lectures and demonstrations from all sorts of top people in the industry,” he says. “I’ve got three apprentices in the scheme now and they are coming and saying, ‘I've done this today and I've learnt that,’ and they’re full of enthusiasm and excitement. They told me recently they’d learned how to strip a whole venison from top to bottom, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow,’ I didn't get that when I was training.”

He says being closely involved with the College has huge benefits.

“I’ve done business talks and demos and a couple of Dragons’ Den style events, but I feel like I’m getting as much from it as the students are. I get to tap in to some up-and-coming inspiring youngsters, and I have the opportunity to tell them the things I think they need to know to be right for my business. I had this preconception there would be loads of teenagers that just don't care, they'll be on their phones, and they won't be interested. In fact, I've got quite a mature audience and a very diverse age group, but one which is completely engaged. A lot of it’s down to the tutors who’ve really captured their imagination.”

James admits he was initially intimidated at the thought of taking on apprentices because of all the paperwork he might have to do, but he says the College did most of it for him. He says their communication is excellent, and he can always speak to a tutor about the things he needs his apprentices to learn, or if their attitude or understanding needs addressing in any way.

“When they’re working on the job with me, I sometimes don’t have time to check their knowledge of the basics, like the right way to chop particular vegetables or how to sharpen their knives, but college takes care of all that kind of thing, as well as teaching them how much butter goes into a classic French sauce and all sorts of knowledge I never had from my training,” he says.

“Honestly, I can’t stress enough the value of building a relationship with Moulton. Whatever kind of business you’re in, you have to ask yourself how much time you spend on recruitment and then on training the person you hire to do things your way. Getting them trained through the College (and apprenticeships aren’t the only option by the way), means you can explain exactly what you need them to learn and what your company’s methods are, so you end up with the person you wanted, not a square peg you need to batter into a round hole. My advice would be, just talk to them and tell them what you need. I suspect you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what they can offer.”