It’s been ten weeks of chopping, mixing, baking and more for a group of budding chefs who have taken part in the first ever Junior Chef Academy at Lincoln College.
Run by The Compass Group, a food and catering company that operates across the UK and beyond, it was aimed at Lincolnshire school pupils in Year 10 to give them a chance to learn from some of the group’s most talented chefs.
Lincoln College provided the professional training kitchens within its own finishing school and restaurant Sessions for the ten-week course.
Now the group of 14 learners have prepared and served a three-course banquet to parents, tutors and guests at a fantastic graduation ceremony at RAF Coningsby. The students also got to burn off some energy ahead of cooking at an RAF Coningsby Health and Wellbeing Day.
Group Executive Chef at The Compass Group, Simon Coulter, said: “It’s been great to have had the chance to run our first Junior Chef Academy in Lincolnshire and Lincoln College has provided us with the professional kitchen space we needed to really inspire this group of keen amateur chefs.
“Ten weeks of learning everything from knife skills, plant-based cookery, cooking with meat, preparing desserts and more have culminated in this amazing graduation event where you can really see their progress. Ten weeks ago, these students would not have been able to create something so complex and delicious and it’s very inspiring to see.
“Several of the cohort have actually come up to me and have said that being on this course has really rallied them to seek our their first jobs in catering and their involvement on this course has secured them the job.”
The students come from a host of local schools, including; William Farr, The Priory LSST Academy, and Sir Robert Pattinson Academy and have prepared everything from a Quorn burrito to a baked chocolate brownie, all while developing their technical skills.
Martyna Belczynska, said: “I wanted to apply for the Junior Chef Academy to improve my knowledge and skills on food and nutrition, but it’s been really amazing. We prepared a starter, main and dessert for our parents and had a chance to develop that in our groups.
“We’ve made great friends and met so many people that we wouldn’t normally meet. It’s made me realise that I might be able to enter a career within the catering industry.”
Ryan, also from LSST Priory Academy, said: “Since I’ve been young, I’ve always been interested in food and this has really shown me a lot of new techniques. My favourite dish to prepare has got to be the chicken katsu curry, we did a butterfly technique to prepare it and I never realised how easy it was to make. I’m really hoping that these skills will mean I can apply for a catering course at Lincoln College when I’ve finished my GCSEs.
“I’ve not been used to meeting new people either and only a few people from my school applied but now I’ve met so many great people and we’re staying in touch now which is great.”
Assistant Principal for HEART, Health and Care at Lincoln College, Steve Horsfield, said: “It’s been amazing to visit the learners each week at Sessions, they’ve gone from being keen amateurs to commercial kitchen professionals in that time.
“We’re very excited to have been able to provide a home for them and we wish them all the best in their careers. This was the first Junior Chef Academy we’ve held and we are looking to make this a regular programme.”
To find out more about the Compass Group, visit https://www.compass-group.co.uk/
Want to learn more about Lincoln College’s catering and food courses? Then visit https://www.lincolncollege.ac.uk/school-leavers/course-subjects/catering
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Date Posted
04 July 2025
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Last Edited
04 July 2025
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