We're really excited
At Elior we’re really excited to be working with TLC and Marco Pierre White on our apprenticeship development pathway to drive development, culinary skills and professionalism within the business.
This isn’t just about learning how to cook. It’s about building skills, confidence and a career you can be proud of.
You will gain nationally recognised qualifications and develop practical skills on the job supported by experienced tutors and endorsed by Marco Pierre White.
An apprenticeship gives you a clear path forward.
This is your chance to turn a job into a career.
To turn potential into progression.
And to prove that with the right support, the kitchen can take you anywhere.
If you have any questions please contact me on peter.bamford@elior.co.uk
Marco Pierre White
”Hello, my name is Marco Pierre White, and if you have the time, I’d like to tell you about my Culinary Academy. I’ve spent my life working to standards — discipline, consistency, and pride in craft. Those same principles sit at the heart of this Academy. It exists to support chefs working in environments where food carries real responsibility and real meaning. Here, we focus on how food is planned, prepared, served, and experienced every day. We ask why things are done the way they are, where effort matters most, and how quality can be delivered consistently under real conditions. Food shapes dignity, wellbeing, and quality of life. That deserves serious thinking — and respect for the people doing the work.
-Marco Pierre White
What is the MPW Academy
The Marco Pierre White Culinary Academy is a standards-led training and development programme designed to transform food, dining, and leadership in care environments.
Built on Marco’s belief that excellence is earned through discipline, consistency, and pride in craft, the Academy goes far beyond recipes. It focuses on how food is planned, prepared, served, and experienced — ensuring every meal supports dignity, wellbeing, and quality of life.
For Anchor colleagues, the Academy offers practical training, inspiration, and clear pathways for development — whether you work in the kitchen, lead a home, or shape the dining experience every day. This is about raising standards together, supporting people to do their best work, and recognising that food plays a central role in how people experience care.
Care starts in the kitchen
I’ve worked in kitchens with three Michelin stars, large brigades, and every resource available. And I’ll say this without hesitation: cooking in care is harder.
Care chefs work with changing needs, tight budgets, complex diets, texture modification, regulation, and service environments most restaurants never face — while cooking for the same people every day, often at the moments they need comfort most.
This Academy exists because that responsibility matters. It is about giving care chefs the thinking, structure, and strategy to operate at the highest level under real conditions.
Applying discipline, clarity, and pride so effort goes where it matters most — and standards rise without adding pressure.
A Shared way of thinking
The Marco Pierre White Culinary Academy is proud to be partnering with Anchor.
From the outset, conversations with Anchor have been grounded in a shared belief: that great care is built by continuously asking why, being open to different perspectives, and having the confidence to challenge established ways of working in pursuit of better outcomes for residents.
Anchor’s commitment to innovation, resident wellbeing, and continuous improvement made this partnership a natural fit. Rather than accepting “the way things have always been done,” Anchor has shown a genuine openness to exploring how food, dining, and service can evolve — not for change’s sake, but to enhance everyday life in care.
Seeing things differently
This partnership is built on a shared willingness to pause, reflect, and ask better questions about how food and dining support care.
Rather than assuming there is a single right answer, Anchor and the Academy are exploring how different perspectives can reveal better ways of working — always with residents’ experience at the centre.
Together, we are focusing on some of the most important questions facing care environments today:
- How do we offer greater variety and choice while maintaining consistency and standards?
- How do we ensure food is served warm, well-presented, and with a sense of occasion, even in complex care settings?
- How do we support flexibility around mealtimes, recognising residents’ individual routines and preferences?
- How do we continually improve the experience of dining — not just the food itself, but how it feels to receive it?
Why this partnership matters
When I spent time with Anchor, what struck me immediately was the people. They were welcoming, knowledgeable, and quietly confident in what they do. More importantly, you could feel that they genuinely care for the residents — not as a policy or a process, but as people.
That matters to me.
Anchor’s willingness to look at food and dining from different angles is what makes this partnership meaningful. Progress comes when people are prepared to question assumptions, refine methods, and stay open to better ways of working in service of those they care for. I saw that mindset first-hand.
That’s where this Academy does its real work. It goes beyond skills alone. It encourages curiosity, professional judgement, and the confidence to ask why — and then how things could be done better.
For colleagues, this is about being part of something larger. Food is recognised as central to care, and the role you play in shaping that experience is treated with the seriousness, respect, and pride it deserves.
— Marco Pierre White
Your progression through the Academy
The Marco Pierre White Culinary Academy is built on the understanding that careers in care develop over time, just like people and kitchens do.
The three stages of the Academy reflect how chefs grow in reality — starting with strong foundations, moving into leadership of kitchens and teams, and progressing to shaping standards and culture across care environments. Each stage builds on the same core principles, while recognising increasing responsibility, experience, and influence.
This is not about fixed pathways or one-size-fits-all routes. It is about creating a clear progression that supports colleagues to build confidence, capability, and a meaningful career in care — today, and into the future.
Level 2 - Foundations of Excellence
Purpose
This programme focuses on mastering the fundamentals of cooking and food delivery in care environments. It builds confidence, consistency, and professional standards in day-to-day kitchen practice.
What you will learn
- Core cooking methods that work reliably in care settings
- How to prepare food that is easy to eat, comforting, and consistent
- Understanding texture modification and special dietary requirements
- How to maintain quality, timing, and presentation from kitchen to resident
- Safe, organised, and professional kitchen routines
Learning outcomes
By the end of this programme, learners will be able to:
- Produce consistent, resident-focused meals under real service conditions
- Demonstrate safe and confident handling of texture-modified and special diets
- Apply standards that improve dignity, warmth, and presentation
- Work more calmly and effectively within time and budget constraints
Duration & delivery
- Typical duration: 12-15 months
- Delivered through on-the-job learning, practical development, and structured support
- Designed to fit around real kitchen roles and service patterns
Marco's perspective
“The more you understand, the less you need.”
Level 3 - Leading the Kitchen
Purpose
This programme develops chefs into effective kitchen leaders. It focuses on planning, people, and systems — helping kitchens operate consistently without constant pressure or firefighting.
What you will learn
- Strategic menu planning that balances quality, variety, and cost
- How to build kitchen systems that support consistency and calm service
- Leadership and communication skills for managing and developing others
- How to prioritise effort where it delivers the greatest impact
- Maintaining standards across busy and complex care environments
Learning outcomes
By the end of this programme, learners will be able to:
- Lead a kitchen with structure, clarity, and confidence
- Plan menus and workflows that support residents and teams
- Develop colleagues and raise standards across the kitchen
- Make informed decisions that improve quality and consistency
Duration & delivery
- Typical duration: 15-18 months
- Delivered through workplace leadership practice, coaching, and structured learning
- Flexible to reflect different homes, kitchens, and team sizes
Marco's perspective
“Effort only matters when it's applied in the right place.”
Level 4 - Strategic Leadership in Care
Purpose
This programme supports senior chefs and catering leaders to shape food, dining, and standards at a strategic level. It focuses on long-term thinking, influence, and sustainability in care environments.
What you will learn
- How food and dining influence dignity, wellbeing, and care outcomes
- Leading standards across multiple teams or services
- Developing leaders and embedding consistent practice
- Using principles to guide decision-making and improvement
- Aligning food strategy with organisational values and care objectives
Learning outcomes
By the end of this programme, learners will be able to:
- Influence food and dining standards beyond their own kitchen
- Lead others with confidence, judgement, and professional authority
- Embed consistent, sustainable approaches to care-focused food delivery
- Contribute strategically to quality, culture, and resident experience
Duration & delivery
- Typical duration: 18-24 months
- Delivered through senior leadership practice, strategic projects, and guided development
- Designed to align with operational and care leadership responsibilities
Marco's perspective
“Excellence isn't an act. It's a habit.”
Marco Pierre White's Seven Strategic Principles
These seven principles guide every decision within the Marco Pierre White Culinary Academy. They are practical ways of thinking, shaped by experience and refined for care environments.
They exist to help chefs focus their effort, work confidently within constraints, and deliver food that supports dignity, wellbeing, and consistency — every day.
Simplicity is restraint. Simple food, done properly, comforts more and keeps kitchens in control.
Variety is respect. Choice recognises individuality, appetite, and routine.
Warmth is reassurance. Food should arrive inviting and familiar, not just hot.
Timing is respect. Service should work around people, not the other way around.
Dignity shapes every plate — from texture to presentation to care in service.
Service puts residents first. Decisions are guided by need, not ego.
Consistency is professionalism. Good food, every day, builds trust and calm.
Dishes designed for care
Through the Marco Pierre White Care Menu, chefs are guided through how Marco himself would approach cooking in a care setting. There is no judgement and no preaching — just practical thinking shaped by experience and respect for the realities of care.
The dishes are designed to work within real budgets and real kitchens. They are all-in-one meals that can be eaten comfortably with a spoon, served warm to order, and hold heat well for room service. Each dish is built to be delicious, familiar, and adaptable, allowing teams to offer genuine variety while preparing efficiently.
This is food created with care in mind from the outset. Not restaurant ideas adapted later, but dishes and methods designed to support dignity, wellbeing, and a sense of occasion in everyday care.
Excellence is Earned, Not Taught
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