Minute on the clock: Michael Weber, Daylesford Organic

The managing director of Daylesford Organic tells Emma Lake about the group’s 12-month Future Foodies internship programme

 

How did the Future Foodies programme come about?

 

It was launched in 2014 by our director of food, John Hardwick, as a way to bring in passionate people who wanted to learn more about food, sustainability and cooking. We wanted to give people the experience of a real working farm and the ability to track the food production journey all the way through to the packaging and selling to the customer.

 

I think it’s even more important these days, because within the hospitality industry the vacancy rate is around 9% to 10% versus 4% in other industries. That’s holding back growth, and this gives us the ability to not only capture but train and retain highly passionate people.

 

How are participants selected?

 

It’s open to all age groups and the only prerequisites are that they’re passionate about food and they have an enthusiasm to learn. We ask people to complete an application in which they talk about their background and why they’re interested in enrolling.

 

What do they learn on the course?

 

It’s a one-year paid internship, and they will work through nine different areas of the business. The areas include the market garden, where we grow vegetables; the creamery, where they learn how to make cheese; in the bakery, making artisanal sourdough breads; the charcuterie, to learn to make pork into ham; and through our black barn production facility, where we make the ready meals that are sold in our retail locations and cook in a truly sustainable way that minimises waste and balances carcasses. They’ll also work in our green-Michelin-star restaurant the Trough and do a rotation in the cookery school where we hold classes for the public. They’ll work on the retail service counter as well, and get the opportunity to choose to work in some of our other properties and departments.

 

The course is entirely taught on the job. How did you engage your existing workforce in that?

 

When people join us as future foodies in the internship programme, our teams know that effective training will create a team member who delivers, is responsible and has a shared fate with the rest of the team. So they’re truly bought into the end goal.

 

What kind of roles have scheme graduates moved into?

 

Not all of them stay within Daylesford. Some go out and help to promote the brand as well as sustainable and regenerative agriculture. We had one graduate who returned to her family farm to develop her own range of ready meals, and another member of the team went on to become a brewer. But we’ve also had those who stay, such as Harold, who’s now Daylesford’s fresh food buyer.

 

How broad is the role spectrum available to them at Daylesford?

 

It’s really broad – there’s a huge amount of opportunity. We don’t really push them in one direction or another. It all depends on where their skillset is and their passion. There’s a variety of entry-level roles once they’ve completed the internship that they can apply for. Participants have also joined teams at the cookery school, market garden, Old Spot restaurant and the events team.

 

What do the participants get from the internship?

 

When people find what they’re passionate about, it makes a huge difference to their wellbeing and their outlook on life. And I think if we look at the huge number of opportunities that this programme presents, it gives them a wide range of opportunity to find somewhere where they fit and the chance to feel like they’re doing something truly rewarding.

 

Applications for Future Foodies are open until 28 April