Scotland’s largest independent contract catering and support services company, Entier, is celebrating again after receiving two awards at catering in Scotland magazine’s CIS Excellence Awards held at a prestigious ceremony in Glasgow.
The company received the award for “Innovation in Training” for its Fresh Olives apprenticeship programme and executive chef Rikki Pirie was named Contract Chef of the Year.
The Fresh Olives apprenticeship awards were launched in 2010 aimed at fourth year school leavers interested in a career in the catering industry. With the dramatic demise in traditional apprenticeship schemes, Entier realised the importance of creating something innovative and unique that would be inspirational and achievable for young people in the region.
Each year more than 130 aspiring hospitality and events managers and chefs from Aberdeen state schools participate in a series of set tasks and practical assignments, all of which have been developed and aligned to the national school syllabus by Entier’s executive chef Bruce Lawrence.
Three winners are selected and offered a three-year paid apprenticeship, with the opportunity for a full-time job thereafter, and the first rung on to a credible career path in the catering and services industry. It is the first apprenticeship competition of its kind and is backed by the Scottish Government’s business to education programme.
The pioneering competition has produced some award-winning talent – Danielle Ritchie, one of the original Fresh Olives, and Alix Frost, were awarded bronze medals in Grampian Junior Chef of the year 2014.
Rikki Pirie, who is executive chef at Apache’s Aberdeen headquarters, Caledonia House, started his cooking career at Simpson’s Hotel in Aberdeen in 1998 where he was commis chef.
He then joined The Hilton Dunkeld Hotel as sous chef before transferring to The Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh, where he joined Tony Singh in the Pompadour restaurant. Subsequent stints at various establishments in Aberdeen led to Rikki working offshore for three years in 2006. Upon returning to the mainland in 2009, Rikki helped to set up the prestigious Cow Shed restaurant in Banchory before joining the team at Entier in 2012.
The CIS Excellence Awards recognise the cream of Scotland’s talent from individuals to organisations and companies of all sizes involved in the catering, hospitality and tourism industries across the country.
It is an exciting time for Entier following a record-breaking year in 2013, continued expansion and growth and a recent move to state-of-the-art premises in Aberdeen. They have already enjoyed huge success this week at the Grampian Chef of the Year awards. The team of chefs, headed up by Entier’s executive chef Bruce Lawrence, completed the evening with nine medals, and contract chef David Mathieson was awarded overall Grampian Chef of the Year 2014.