Opinion: Own the problem, you created it!

Every morning I’m awake by at least 6.30am, before my wife’s alarm sounds, I read the two pages of news that Google deems worthy of my attention. In the main, it keeps me well informed of global events.

But recently an article came to my attention, which, if I’m being honest makes my piss boil: It was Sky News interviewing former Michelin starred chef Tom Aikens regarding how A-Level home Economics isn’t being taught as much, if at all. Now, Mr Aikens is no stranger to voicing his opinions on what the education sector should & shouldn’t be teaching.

In April 2016 Aikens said:

“a large proportion of kids who leave schools either haven’t had the opportunity or haven’t had the curriculum to give them the tools to be able to do that.”,

in an article titled: “Children shouldn’t leave school unable to cook, says Aikens”.

All very laudable, even though he had no plan for how to fund it with the “millions and millions” (by his own admission) required.

So at this point, it looks like Aikens has a solid case in reducing obesity & equipping the next generation with life skills – Yeah, fast forward three years and he’s on Sky News using the cessation of Food tec A-Levels in 2015 as some kind of recruiting platform for Hospitality.

He’s not alone, Mark Sargeant – former Gordon Ramsay understudy, has also spoken out about the lack of cooking in our education system saying:

“who needs Pythagoras theory anyway?”

So let’s address Sargeant’s point; Because the way Mr Sargeant writes he clearly wasn’t paying attention in school. Going back to the quote attributed to him – “who needs Pythagoras theory anyway?” he clearly doesn’t understand the use of an apostrophe & that it is Pythagoras’ theorem because a theory & theorem are two different things. Maybe we should spend less time teaching English, Maths or Sciences?

The Education system & teachers have enough on their plate without clueless profile chefs trying to play Politicians. To paraphrase Rene Redzepi in a now-deleted tweet:

“Stop being a cunt and get back in the kitchen”

Now here is the reality that both Aiken, Sargeant and a whole host of chefs of that generation are trying to avoid.
This situation, is partially down to you, bullying, long anti-social hours, low pay and so the list goes on just for some recognition in a little red book makes me want to knock the shit out of somebody, especially when you clowns want to lay the blame at teacher’s feet – It’s your problem, own it & address it.

19,000 Chefs left the industry last year in the UK, do the likes of Aikens & Sargeant wonder why? No, probably not – They are more than likely of the mindset that the industry is better off without people that “can’t hack it”.

62% of Hospitality employees think that the sector doesn’t take care of its workers, according to a recent survey by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). 84% said that they felt that working on the sector had caused increased stress & 45% wouldn’t recommend working in the industry.

Then there is the macho bullshit attitude of ‘go hard or go home’, typified by this image being shared on social media:
So for 53% of 16-20-year-olds not to even consider Hospitality a viable career choice is hardly surprising, is it? That’s according to a recent survey by HIT Training.