A cooking competition which leads to training, the idea of ​​France Travail to help restaurants recruit

Motivés, les candidats sont très impliqués. MIDI LIBRE – STEPHANIE BOULOIR

Neuf personnes sont engagées dans ce parcours en Lozère. Après le concours, organisé au lycée hôtelier de Saint-Chély-d’Apcher, elles auront accès à une formation de commis de cuisine, pour être opérationnelles pour la saison.

Among the professions in tension, those in catering. Establishments are struggling to find staff. Faced with this observation, France Travail set up an innovative operation, in partnership with the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih) and the Region. This action is available in all departments of Occitanie.

Their first steps in professional kitchens. FREE MIDI – STEPHANIE BOULOIR

Cécile Arfeuillère, delegated territorial director for Gard and Lozère, explains: "The genesis of the adventure is this observation that companies have difficulty filling positions. During periods of full employment in Lozère, there is little active population looking for work. So, our challenge is to bring together job offers and job seekers." And in an unprecedented development for France Travail, she went to look for these job seekers outside their area of ​​employment. "We looked for people who love cooking, who have an interest, a passion, a desire for cooking." Ten people were selected for this course. Between now and May, they will benefit from CFA training from the Chamber of Trades and Crafts, in Mende.

Very varied profiles

To mark the kick-off of this unique session, the candidates for retraining immediately threw themselves into the deep end. A competition awaited them in the kitchens of the Sacré-Cœur hotel high school in Saint-Chély-d’Apcher, Thursday March 21, 2024. There were finally nine, presenting profiles, ages and backgrounds very varied professionals, to be in the running. "This is an excellent opportunity to introduce them to a world they don't know and allow them to appreciate it ", estimated Christian Chavignon, vice-president of Umih.

They had two hours to produce a dish, from a set basket, identical for everyone. The basket had been announced to them beforehand. Small unforeseen event: it ultimately didn't contain any mushrooms. This was not premeditated, but it allowed them to test their ability to adapt, since some had based their preparation on this famous ingredient.

Discover the professional world of cooking

But, above all, first challenge: take possession of your work plan and your equipment. "I’have the habit of cooking at home, with my equipment. There, you have to go quickly, and adapt to professional equipment", breathes Sylvie. Jean-Sébastien admits a little stress, but displays great motivation . He would see himself as a professional in the kitchen; "but I don’have the basics".

No worries. The chef of Alicanta (Le Rozier), Guillaume Follenfant (mobilized alongside Gérard Dugard, from Traiteur de vos envies), adheres to the concept, which can represent "a good opportunity" : "Sometimes, motivation is more important than training at the start of a journey. It’s like in music. There are basics to learn. Then we can play a song. Then we make our own composition."

In the end, there will only be one winner of the competition. But the nine participants will then be able to engage in this training which will teach them the scales.

All candidates will be able to benefit from professional and paid training in the profession of kitchen assistant, lasting one and a half months, i.e. one month on a work-study basis and fifteen days of internship in a company. At the end of this training, qualified candidates will be offered seasonal job offers to enter the job market from May and June. I subscribe to read more