Michelin-starred chefs Paul Ainsworth and Tommy Banks launch industry-leading hospitality exchange programme

Michelin-starred chefs Paul Ainsworth and Tommy Banks are putting employee development first by enabling teams to experience the workings of a different business for one week.

The pair have launched the sector’s first exclusive employee exchange programme, an initiative  which allows staff - from both front and back-of-house teams, to swap companies for a week. This will enable them to experience the workings of another restaurant group within a very different setting.

There have been three exchanges so far and a further seven  are scheduled this year. 

Paul said: “I am so excited to be partnering with the Banks family on this programme. You never stop learning in hospitality but we want to fast-track this and give our team a more holistic view of the industry, which comes with experiencing other companies. I am so grateful to have worked all across the UK and I want others to be able to do the same.”

Tommy added: “Stage programmes are established for chefs but lacking for front of house and other roles. We want to change this and allow anyone within our business the opportunity to be able to join The Ainsworth Collection. We have much to learn from them and there are so many fantastic suppliers to visit in Cornwall.”

Tommy and Paul decided to work together as both of their businesses share a family-run feel, along with a passion for the produce of their home counties. While, at the same time, their locations and sites are unique enough to allow participants to discover new techniques, suppliers, and ways of working.

Modules at the Tommy Banks Group include foraging and preserving, farming and growing, housekeeping, and e-commerce and operations. However, down in Cornwall, employees can elect to participate in the likes of pastry making at Paul Ainsworth at No6, guest relations, front of house at Caffè Rojano or social media.

Along with this, those taking part can choose to rotate through the business or hone in on one particular restaurant within the organisation, and every visit includes accommodation and extensive supplier visits.

The initiative will be a part of the lineup of other benefits that both the businesses boast, such as team accommodation, health and wellbeing packages, a commitment to work-life balance, and much more.