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Galvin cooks up a fresh start for troubled youths
Amar Singh01.05.09
Teenagers from some of London's most crime-ridden housing estates are to be offered the chance to train and work in leading five-star hotels.
Galvin's Chance, a project spearheaded by Michelin-starred chef Chris Galvin, will see youths from neighbourhoods blighted by gun and knife crime trained to work at the highest level of the tourism and hospitality industry.
Le Gavroche, the Hilton on Park Lane, The Dorchester and the Jumeirah Carlton Tower have already made a commitment to provide work experience and job opportunities to up to 20 young apprentices and it is hoped more will follow.
The initiative is the brainchild of Fred Sirieix, the general manager of the Galvin at Windows restaurant at the Hilton.
The magnitude of London's gun and knife problem was brought home to Mr Sirieix when he was jogging through Peckham, where he lives with his girlfriend and five-year-old daughter. He said: "I love running in my spare time and on my route I kept seeing the police signs after there had been a murder.
"It was shocking. There are children in gangs and getting into trouble. It is horrible and we can't stop it, but we can help show there is an alternative."
He said Galvin's Chance will involve trainees working at different hotels or restaurants while receiving training at Westminster Kingsway College as waiters, sommeliers and bar tenders.
The scheme will begin once £30,000 in funding has been raised. French-born Mr Sirieix added: "I am fortunate to work in Mayfair in this wonderful industry, which can be very rewarding. There are jobs available and anyone can do it. I am no superstar but I have a willingness and that is essential.
"Learning the skills of a sommelier or a bartender requires real dedication and can lead to very fulfilling careers."
The scheme will be run in association with Stop (Solve This Ongoing Problem), a campaign set up by graphic design student Alexander Rose after his friend Eugene Attram, a student from Croydon, was stabbed to death aged 16 in 2006.
Mr Rose, 20, from Mitcham, said: "I've been running the Stop campaign for two years and when Fred got in touch I saw that there was a real opportunity. We have the ability here to really do some good. The way to combat criminal culture is through opportunities and it doesn't get much better than these amazing hotels."
Also involved in the programme is the charity Springboard which has a track record of helping ex-offenders and the long-term unemployed find work in the hospitality, leisure and travel sectors. In a bid to raise the £30,000 needed Galvin's Chance is holding a 4.5km race around the Serpentine in Hyde Park and under Park Lane culminating in a gruelling ascent of the 28 floors of the London Hilton on 17 June.
Galvin, who learned his trade under Antony Worrall Thompson 30 years ago before joining the Ritz Hotel, won a Michelin star at Orrery and also won accolades at the Wolseley before joining the Hilton on Park Lane.
He said: "The race will be fun but the intent is serious. Galvin's Chance is there to help real people at risk change their lives.
"We hope it will grow over the years and make a real difference."
Taking part include ex-footballer Graeme Le Saux, athletes Jo Fenn and Roger Black and chefs Eric Chavot and Michel Roux Jr.
Reader views (8)
Well done Jamie!
- Frank, BONCATH, WALES
So, Real from London, what is YOUR solution?
Are YOU going to employ them?
What line of work would you suggest?
What line of work is without 'bad' elements, without exposure to 'bad' types of people?
Seriously Real, I'm sure I'm not the only one curious of where exactly this utopia you describe exists. Tell us please.
This is better, much much better, than nothing.
- Trunk, US
Galvin and Co are to be applauded for this. They really show that not all chefs are celebrity chasing, money-grabbing numpties!
- Peter Guinness, London
And why aren't ordinary youngsters from every walk of life also offered this opportunity? It pays to be young and bad sure does!
- Helen, norwich
Nobody is sub-human no matter what they are or what they have done. Retraining the brain is a very good solution (the Dog Whisperer for wayward youth). However, these 'hotel jobs' smacks of workhouse mentality in my opinion and does not give rise to the individual's potential to be addressed and a full ranged of choices being made available to them. Not to mention that hotels are hardly the most well-boundaried of places what with the unusual hours, random transient nature of guests, and the fact that a lot of people use hotels for sexual liaisons or 'holiday mentality' behaviour. I should imagine a great deal are awash with drink, drugs, 'escorts', and generalised madness.
- Real, London
Mr Trotter - have ever been to a council estate in South East London? I think not!!
- Nicola, London
Yet again, the sub-humans that terrorise our streets are to be rewarded. Appeasing these low-lifes with rare career opportunities is a slap in the face to all the decent, hard working kids who live in the same areas but just say 'no.' Living in a run-down postcode doesn't mean automatic gang membership. These people make a choice, eager to emulate black culture and street life in America. They revel in violence.Begging to help them with pathetic initiatives only encourages more of the same.
- Dave Trotter, Bedforshire
Where have we heard all of this before.
- David., Chertsey.UK.
