Low Wood Bay Spa & Resort has a new chocolatier on its books, thanks to training funded via the English Lakes Hotels Personal Development Fund.
Personal Development Fund Helps Chef De Partie
Traviss Locke, our resident Chef De Partie at the resort, has completed a course with the Yorkshire Academy of Chocolate and Patisserie (YACP).
The academy, based at York Cookery School and run by international chocolatier and consultant Andrew Thwaite, has equipped Traviss with a range of chocolate making technical skills and recipes.
Traviss has always had a passion for making his own chocolate and was keen to explore further opportunities for learning new skills and experimenting with the latest innovative techniques.
So he applied for funding through the English Lakes Hotels Personal Development Fund and we were able to cover the full £350 cost for him to complete the chocolatier course.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the course training and gained tonnes of valuable experience. We each had a practical chocolate making assignment to complete and as it was in the lead up to Easter, I made an enormous chocolate egg which I donated to the hotel. ...I’m incredibly grateful to English Lakes Hotels for supporting me through this course and also in attaining my City and Guilds Level 3 Chef de partie standard qualification through the hotel group’s own Culinary Academy."
Supporting Local Charities in Cumbria
Traviss’ giant Easter Egg was displayed at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa reception over the holiday period, with our guests entered into a prize draw to acquire it and the lucky winner presented with the egg on Easter Sunday. All proceeds from the draw have been given to our Sam’s Club Charity which supports local charities and good causes.
English Lakes Hotels Personal Development Fund
The English Lakes Hotels Personal Development Fund is available for team members to upskill existing talents, develop their career skills or broaden their horizons. Training programmes or courses can be mutually agreed with line managers in most disciplines.
All team members have to do is let their manager and the group operations director know what the course is, the cost and why they wish to complete it. The request is assessed and the applicant is informed on what financial support is available towards the cost of their course.
The aim is to get the best out of all our teams and give everybody the opportunity to progress in their career choices. It also helps to engender a stronger work life balance for our employees.
You can follow Traviss’ journey on Instagram via @korucacao.