Underpinned by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and the Craft Guild of Chefs, Academies are open to year 10 and 11 pupils and provide students with the opportunity to learn about food preparation, cooking, presentation, hygiene, safety, team work, organisational skills and food service techniques.
Academies are endorsed by a number of high profile chefs and restaurateurs who have become honorary professors including Heston Blumenthal, Brian Turner CBE, Lorraine Pascale, Raymond Blanc and James Martin.
The Academies are taught on Saturdays with the Westminster Kingsway College delivering the course over 5 weeks and the University of West London over a 10 week period. They’ve been so successful that they’ve expanded to meet demand and the University of West London also include Asian food and baking.
On completion of the course students attend a graduation ceremony where lunch is provided and each receives a medal and certificate. To date, the University of West London has seen in excess of 2,500 students attend with The Geoffrey Harrison Foundation contributing to over 360 of these. Many students progress onto full time catering courses when they leave school, an accolade to the support of The Geoffrey Harrison Foundation and hard work and dedication of the students.