Adam Handling MBE Q&A: Inspiring Young Talent in the Hospitality Industry

With the first Knorr Professional Scottish Student Chef of the Year Competition complete and our winners crowned, we had the pleasure of speaking to this year's guest judge, Adam Handling MBE. Having entered the industry as a young apprentice, Adam spoke to us about the importance of nurturing and inspiring the young talent around us and how Knorr Professional achieved this.

Q: In your own experience as a student chef, and now as the Chef Owner of the Adam Handling Restaurant Group, what's the key to inspiring those young chefs who are just starting out in the industry?

Adam: I started my career at 15 years old in Gleneagles as an apprentice, but the one thing that made me stay in my apprenticeship was the ability to learn so much. I've got quite a few staff that work in our Group, about 200 or so, and I put in inspiration, education, and motivation - with those three things you can really get the best out of people. Without the future of the industry, these young students coming into it, it stops - so to be as sustainable as possible, add those three processes to the young to educate them, inspire them, and keep them in this game which is wonderful, forever.

Q: With that in mind, we know that staff shortages are a core issue for many hospitality businesses at the moment. What can operators do to nurture their staff and encourage more young students to stay and pursue a long-term career in the industry?

Adam: There is no doubt that specific restaurants struggle for staff, I'm not too sure why that is because we've got loads of young students out there, and we've got loads of good operators out there as well that can keep them on. So, for me, to be able to concentrate on the future means a blank canvas. Students are sponges and if you put them in the right liquid, they soak it all up.

With me, education gets me really excited, but only if it's something I really care about. The thing about students, or chefs, or people in general, is that if it's not something they're truly passionate about it goes in one ear and out the next. So, if you inspire them [student chefs] and you teach them properly, and professionally, they're going to stay with you for a long period of time. Get them excited by flavour, taste, smells, imagination, and the world is your oyster!

Q: Following on with that notion of inspiring and educating, you were our guest judge for the first annual Knorr Professional Scottish Student Chef of the Year Competition. Having seen the students in action, how important are competitions in helping them grow and prepare for their future careers?

Adam: Competitions similar to this are perfect for students, because one, it gets them out of their comfort zone, and two, it gets them to network. Having Knorr put on something like this for the students of Scotland is phenomenal!

Any competition helps with confidence because it takes you out of your comfort zone. You're in a brand-new kitchen, you're with complete strangers, and you've got to cook your heart out and focus. If you can master all of those things, even if you don't win, all it does is make you stronger as a person.

Obviously, being mentored is very important because they're young, and they don't know everything, but just to see that little spark, that little glimmer in their eyes, that little bit of hunger, and the connections they make within competitions is great.

Q: What difference does it make to have industry-leading brands and organisations getting involved and supporting student chefs?

Adam: Something that's very inspiring is to have big brands like Knorr Professional take time out and actually want to educate and push. You put people in a group together that are hungry, they're going to thrive together. The students use these products inside of their colleges, but to have these products help them grow as chefs as well, I think is very inspiring and very applaudable.

We can't wait to see what next year brings as we get ready for another Knorr Professional Scottish Student Chef of the Year Competitions!

Feeling inspired? Discover how you can help nurture the young talent rising through our industry and ensure a future full of hope and ambition by visiting our website.