Mentoring: a model for the future nurturing of Culinary Talent

Should time be invested in nurturing the next generation of Culinarians in order to improve the profession? Is fear and intimidation acceptable in a professional kitchen? Can we identify the reasons behind the high levels of staff turnover? What is mentoring? In this paper I hope to address these questions, and to discuss mentoring as a model for nurturing culinary talent. I draw upon both personal experiences and those of students who have experienced mentoring as part of the Professional Internship Module of the BA in Culinary Arts in the Dublin Institute of Technology to support my position. I propose the philosophy of mentoring needs to be generalised into the wider culinary arts community in order to transform the nature of the kitchen into a nurturing environment.