GET ON YOUR ADANDE SOAPBOX Got something on your mind and need to clear the air?
	Adande Refrigeration has teamed up with the Craft Guild of Chefs to give members a platform to air their concerns or views. This month: Michael Godfrey, Executive Head Chef at Eton College

GOLD MEDAL MANAGEMENT

Michael Godfrey, Executive Head Chef at Eton College, has been the training manager for the cooking category of UK Skills since 2008 and he is the first training manager to achieve two consecutive gold medals for cookery internationally, most recently as mentor to Ben Murphy, who won the cooking category of WorldSkills 2011, held in London.

MENTORING

A commis chef at Koffmann’s in London, Ben and the 36 other competitors, toiled for two days, cooking four courses from scratch from 10am until 5.30pm.

“You have to overreach to deliver; plough above your level. Ben is a fantastic competitor. He was working here with me at Eton on his days off and we had a constant stream of communication daily, emails, photos etc., of work in progress. It took him almost a month to get out of the habit after the competition.”

But Murphy and Godfrey remain in touch. Ben is the Craft Guild’s Team Captain at the 2012 Hotelympia Parades des Chefs and will later act at Michael’s commis in the 2012 Culinary Olympics. Ben will also take part in the individual competition, for which he is receiving additional training from Godfrey.

SELECTION

The selection process for UK Skills cooking is very rigorous and highly organised. The final 12 who make it through the initial selection process: “Will have been assessed at every stage, including psychological evaluation.”

Assessors for Ben Murphy included Michael Godfrey, Steven Scuffell, Peter Griffiths, John Retallick, Daniel Ayton and the previous UK WorldSkills gold medal winner, the Ritz’s Adam Smith.

“We create a comprehensive and robust audit trail throughout the selection process,” says Godfrey, adding that competitors’ behaviour outside of competition is also taken into consideration.

“WorldSkills assesses the full range of skills, so it is about more than the food on the plate. It is effectively four days of competition, two days of cooking and two days of weighing up ingredients. The pressure and stress is phenomenal – the media attention the competitors receive is only the start of it.”

Godfrey was also one of the international judging panel at WorldSkills. “We look out for the competitors and want it to be a very level, fair and transparent process,” he explains.

Judging is highly rigorous. “You can lose a point for wiping your hands on your apron. I got Ben to video himself working and from that we could review his behaviour as well as his work – just like they do in football…slow motion replay. What we are looking for is the correct working method, left to right, minimal tools on the work surface, no scratching of the nose…this turns regular work habits into positive working practice and helps eliminate any negative points in the process.

“Ben won the competition by just 0.06 of a point – that’s how close it was – out of his 538 marks in total.”

SUPPORT

“We had exceptional support for WorldSkills,” says Godfrey. “Adande and Reynolds, in particular, stand out. This was Adande’s first event, but Reynolds has been supporting since 2008.”

(Adande was the presenting sponsor for the cooking category of the 2012 WorldSkills and its two-drawer refrigeration units were used by each of the 37 competitors trying to win gold medals for their country. After the event, most of these units were sold off at a discount to educational establishments.)

The Adande’s drawers also helped with the judging, making it easy for judges to see if food had been wrapped, labelled and packed correctly, ie., was a piece of cheese resting on a piece of raw fish? Judges could also check that the competitor was working hygienically.

“The Adande is a robust piece of kit; I liked it so much, I bought two,” says Godfrey, who took Ben Murphy’s WorldSkills unit as well as the Norwegian competitors, the only other gold medal winner.

“It is one of those pieces of equipment where you must read the instructions to get the most from it; it is not simply ‘plug and play’. For banqueting, for example, we keep a drawer at 12 degC, the best temperature for scooping ice cream.

“The drawers are brilliant for large or small kitchens. They are a good height for chefs who are of above average height. For my guys here, it is their favourite workspace.

“Some other fridges are problematic for cleaning, but the Adande’s drawer lifts out and that makes it easy.

“For smaller kitchens, its’ ability to withstand heat – there is no heat transfer – means you can put a chargrill or combi on top.

“The drawers could also be used to separate food groups, such as meat, fish, halal or kosher.”

COMPETITION

“I would like to see more of the trade supporting WorldSkills; make it become more of a trade show and open it up to professionals working in all sectors. It is interesting to see how the other trades such as restaurant service, even plumbing and electrics, impinge on foodservice.

“How to improve skills? I would like to see more people getting involved in culinary competition. They are a great tool for learning and there is never a right time to let a pair of hands go. But what you get out of are new ideas, innovation and enhanced learning – and that is good for our business.”

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