Mitchells & Butlers recently gave its apprentices a chance to shine. Around 30 apprentices from their culinary programme Chefs’ Academy were given the opportunity to showcase their cooking skills to over 2000 stakeholders at the Mitchells & Butlers annual award ceremony.

The apprentices cooked for the internal PRIDE Awards, which celebrates the achievements of General Managers from each of its 1600 businesses. Over the week, the apprentices cooked around 500 three-course meals each day for four days – that’s over 6000 plates of food in total! They also cooked a buffet lunch each day!

The Chefs’ Academy apprenticeship programme incorporates both in-business learning with two days per month taught at academies in Manchester, Birmingham and Watford. The academy classes give apprentices the opportunity to expand their skill base in an environment outside of their workplace. This added experience allowed the apprentices to comfortably cook for such large numbers - very different to their usual workplace.

Let M&B help you kickstart your kitchen career

If you're interested in working in a kitchen but you've got limited experience, why not consider an apprenticeship? These programme are a great way to earn while you learn, and at M&B, you'll be learning from some of the best. Our apprenticeships are award-winning and the structure programmes have even helped our chefs earn recognition on their own merit at the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Explore our current chef apprenticeships at a number of our businesses. With 13 brands and over 1,600 we've no doubt we've got something that's right up your street. Well, not quite literally. But with 82% of the UK population based less than five miles from an M&B business, you could be closer to one than you think.