Loughborough College first to achieve Craft Guild of Chefs accreditation

The Craft Guild of Chefs (@Craft_Guild) has announced that Loughborough College (@Lborocollege) has successfully passed all the standards required to receive accreditation. The Craft Guild of Chefs College and University Accreditation scheme was launched in July 2020 with Loughborough one of the first to sign up and achieve the status.

To achieve the accreditation lecturers and students at Loughborough College were interviewed in addition to skills training sessions being observed to ensure they met the high standards required by the Craft Guild of Chefs to pass. The day also included an assessment of the Radmoor Restaurant at Loughborough College and was conducted by David McKown and Rupert Rowley, members of the Management Committee at the Craft Guild of Chefs.

Professor David Foskett, Chief Assessor commented;

” Accreditation gives institutions professional recognition. It demonstrates that the courses and curriculum offered have industry credibility, as well as industry standard facilities and resources to pass the external employer audit. In addition, it recognises that your students have the employability skills required by the global hospitality industry. The industry will undoubtedly look very different in 2021 and being sufficiently accredited in such a way will ensure robustness in the future. Loughborough’s success, even in such challenging times, is especially commendable.”

Jo Maher, Principal at Loughborough College added:

“I am delighted and proud that we are the first college in the UK to be accredited by the Craft Guild of Chefs. Our hospitality staff and students are a credit to Loughborough College and thoroughly deserve this accolade for their consistently high standards and hard work.”

Darren Creed, Curriculum Manager at Loughborough College said:

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to be involved and assessed by the Craft Guild of Chefs for the college accreditation award. To be assessed by industry professionals and presented with this prestigious accolade is fantastic. The team work so hard for the students each and every year and this just confirms what they do and makes it all worth it. I would urge any hospitality department to undertake this assessment.”

As the leading chef association in the UK, The Craft Guild of Chefs has always been committed to increasing the standards of professional cooking through greater awareness, education, and training. It is keen to do more to inspire the next generation of chefs at a grassroots level, which is why it launched the accreditation programme.

The scheme is aimed at colleges and universities that want to benefit from the association’s decades of experience and to tap into its extensive network of chefs by associating their faculty with the Craft Guild of Chefs name. It also offers colleges access to high profile chefs who can be asked to become guest speakers and College Patrons.