Fifteen

Fifteen was founded by Jamie Oliver in 2002. His vision was to create a professionally run kitchen, serving beautiful Italian food, alongside a pioneering Apprentice Programme. At the heart of the business is a desire to enable young people to believe in themselves, to show them their past can be left behind and persuade them the future is theirs t... o create. Every year, each restaurant recruits unemployed and under-qualified young people, aged between 18 and 24, from the local area and trains them to become qualified chefs through a unique Apprentice Programme. They are taught to love and respect food and its provenance - taking in everything from traditional bakery and butchery, to the finest pastry skills. As part of their course, apprentices also study professional cookery at college, get hands-on training in the Fifteen restaurant, learn about food provenance on sourcing trips and do work experience at some top restaurants. Apprentices graduate after 12 months of extensive training and start their journey of becoming the next generation of professional chefs. 'Fifteen' is named after the first group of 15 apprentices who embarked on the course in London in 2002. Since then, more than 220 young people have graduated across all the restaurants, with some of them now running their own restaurants, starring on TV or working in top-class kitchens from London to New York to Sydney. More than 90 per cent of apprentices stay in the business, and the programme is still growing. Jamie Oliver's Fifteen is committed to sourcing seasonal, high quality ingredients from the best suppliers throughout the UK and Italy. Homemade produce is at the heartbeat of the restaurant, be it fresh pasta, breads, ice cream, a selection of cured meats, cordials, presses and alcoholic drinks such as limoncello, fennel liqueur, almond liqueur and creme liqueur, to name a few. The profits from each restaurant are reinvested into the relevant charity set up for that area. Jamie Oliver's Fifteen's activities are implemented by the Better ...Read More