A Very Tempting Café
A
new Brighton restaurant opened by a group of Northbrook students is proving incredibly successful and looks set to produce the next Young Chef of the Year.
Temptation café in the North Laine of Brighton was opened by ex Northbrook student, Peter Allinson, with the help of three Northbrook hospitality apprentices, Ollie Darby, Daniel Whittle and Rebecca Lynch. The four met when they enrolled on the NVQ 2 in Professional Cookery at the College and have since taken the stylish café from strength to strength.
Head chef, Ollie Darby, 21, from Worthing is currently one of four finalists in line for Young Chef of the Year in the Sussex Food and Drinks Awards category to be held next month. Ollie was working in a bar in Worthing when he decided he wanted to train as a chef. Doing an apprenticeship has made this possible for him. He said “I wanted to get a qualification in hospitality so the apprenticeship was perfect for me. I love my job now and Peter is the best boss in the world.”
Peter, who previously worked as a primary school teacher and a project manager, wanted a career change and, after 20 years of cooking for leisure, he decided to enrol on the NVQ 2 in Professional Cookery at Northbrook. He had a dream to run ‘the smartest café in the street’ and, with the help of his fellow students, he has managed to make his dream a reality.
Peter completely gutted and renovated the property in six weeks. The apprentices have arranged the kitchen to suit them, which has resulted in the café receiving a five star food hygiene rating.
The establishment boasts a selection of locally sourced beers, wines, cheeses and chocolates and wherever possible features local food on the menu - Beef from Chichester, pancetta from Shoreham and all the cakes and sweets are made on the premises.
Peter is keen for the students to continue their training and has arranged the rota so that they can study for their NVQ Level 3.
Very aptly, the NVQ staff at the College have booked their Christmas meal with Peter at the fabulous new addition to Gardner Street.
Top photo: (left to right) Daniel Whittle, Peter Allinson and Ollie Darby