New standards for a changing industry

There is no doubt that our industry is changing. The pub sector, for example, has expanded and reinvented itself so rapidly that it is hard to believe that, 25 years ago, there were thousands of pubs that didn't serve food and many that refused entry to women. Now, pubs are serving 28 million meals a week and there are entire brands devoted to female customers.

But change has not been restricted to pubs. We are experiencing a move towards modernisation in our industry and a strong trend towards more casual dining. And this has brought with it new requirements, particularly in the kitchen.

While traditional skills are as vital as ever in some operations, for others there are new demands, particularly in many of the excellent outlets looking for speed of turnaround, consistency of product and low wastage. It is these operations, part of the fast-growing hospitality retail sector, where pre-prepared products play an essential role.

Let's face it, many chefs no longer need to know how to prepare a chicken from scratch - feathers and all - or to make a vat of mayonnaise, as I used to do. Particularly when there are brands of ready-made products which give perfect portion control and are treated to ensure that they are safe and hygienic.

There have been protests that such products are downgrading the role of the chef. But the real issue is that these products are widely used, widely useful and perfectly acceptable to the customer. They are also invaluable in outlets where chefs need to extend their thinking to focus less on preparation and more on presentation.

This is not deskilling, it is reskilling. The industry is changing, and it is our job to react to these changes.

And the Hospitality Training Foundation (HTF) has reacted. As the National Training Organisation (NTO), we have a duty to help ensure that the training, education and qualifications available to the industry meet the needs of its employers. We have, therefore, worked with operators, nutritionists and food manufacturers to develop a new set of national occupational standards to focus on the use of pre-prepared food.

Occupational standards show what the industry expects someone in a given job at a given level to be able to do and the knowledge they should possess. If you like, they are the A-Z of staff capability in hospitality, the foundation on which vocational qualifications are built.

And now, in reaction to industry need, there are new standards covering the use of pre-prepared food, meaning that more chefs doing sterling work in high-speed outlets can attain a qualification to reflect their particular skills. If they will never be asked to make a vat of mayonnaise, should this mean that they can never work towards a qualification to reflect their skills and knowledge? Of course not. Many in the industry recognise this, and the new occupational standards will help put this situation right.

Suppliers of pre-prepared foods have long fought to raise the profile of their products and show how essential they are in meeting the needs of the hospitality retail sector of our industry, where image, presentation and fashion all come into the purchase. And this can only be of benefit to operators. People such as Calum Ross, food service director of Caterplan, are championing the cause, providing a range of support in terms of menu composition, recipes and costs to ensure the maximum benefit from pre-prepared foods.

And long may such relationships continue. For the reality is that closer and closer co-operation between supplier and caterer is inevitable in order to remain competitive and to be able to react quickly to market trends or new legislation. Genetically modified food is a classic example. Caterers are placing their trust in their food supplier to provide high-quality, safe products made from traceable sources. It's a tall order. But training the chefs of the future to understand these foods and to know how to use them correctly is a step towards developing closer co-operation and better understanding.

Incorporating training on pre-prepared foods into the national training process may seem, to the traditionalists, a taboo area. But we have to face the labour market as it is. And the plain truth is that pre-prepared foods have a place - for some, a very important place - in creating the dynamic and thriving industry of which we are all a part.

Declan Swan is NTO director at the Hospitality Training Foundation