AGM 2024 Minutes
Monday 16th September 2024
1. David Coubrough, chair of trustees, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts: financial update
2. Adam Byatt, Chair, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts: chair’s update
3. Lisa Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts: CEO’s update
4. Ceremony of Investitures
5. Q&A + Any other business
David Coubrough, chair of trustees, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts:
financial update
In July 2021, Sara-Jane Staines, who created the Adopt A School charity in 1990, tragically died. Her legacy lives on and I'm sure she would be smiling now seeing everyone here today. In April 2023, Lisa Jenkins was appointed as CEO, bringing new energy and drive to the organisation. You'll be hearing plenty from Lisa shortly, and she'll give the evidence to the comment I've just made. No pressure, Lisa!
As a board of trustees, we have sadly lost Albert Roux, Richard Shepherd and Willy Bauer. Having all passed away. Now new appointments have been made. Bill Toner, chief executive of CH&Co. Amanda Afiya, former editor of The Caterer magazine. Hot off the Press we have just interviewed a new Legal Trustee.
On the financial side, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts has returned to stability and strength. Lisa will give chapter and verse in Membership, Patronage, and Sponsorship. A restructure has also occurred with Adopt A School and I'd like to pay tribute to Helena Houghton who made a great contribution as executive director, for the last eight years (10 years with Adopt a School in total) and who has now left for pastures new.
We are very fortunate to have the professional expertise of John Valentine, who manages our investment portfolio and who invests wisely. Following the fallout of the Liz Trust budget our return dropped from 9% to 4.5%, but following John's review and readjustment our rate (over the last 9 years) has returned to 5 ½%.
Sara-Jane Staines legacy in her will for AAS of £200k demonstrated her passion for the Charity.
In conclusion, the position is robust and whilst we are never complacent, the need for proactivity remains paramount. At this point I'd like to introduce our new chairman, Adam Byatt, Chef patron of his own Michelin starred restaurant Trinity and culinary director of Browns Hotel London. Adam is a protege of our previous chairman of 20 years, John Williams MBE who now takes the role of President. Brian Turner, CBE has taken on the position of Honorary President and we pay tribute to them both for many years of leadership.
Adam Byatt, Chair, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts:
chair’s update
Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow academicians, welcome to our annual AGM.
It is incredible to see so many of you here showing your support for the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
And thank you to The Dorchester (Luca Virgilio) for hosting us here today.
By way of an update from me …
I have spent a good deal of the past few months listening and observing.
I’ve been getting my head around this new role and acclimatising myself with the inner workings of the Academy.
Taking in the challenges and successes which the Academy deals with every day.
There are many challenges. And – as we know – many successes.
As an academician, and before taking on this role, I had no real idea of the amount that goes on behind the scenes to bring RACA to life.
It is quite remarkable.
I am also humbled by the investment of time and energy which is so willingly given by many of our benefactors. Their generosity – and, quite frankly, their generosity of spirit – is deeply appreciated.
The role of chairman is an honour which, for me, has not yet sunk in.
But I am immensely grateful for the support that I know I have in this room.
I shall continue to do my very best to Chair the Academy. I shall continue to my very best to support Lisa and her team in delivering effectiveness – and making an impact – on education, our academicians and the wider industry.
I am blessed to have been given such a talented and forward-thinking management committee and chairs across our various programmes.
This was all in place prior to my tenure, with huge thanks to Lisa.
“That is our duty, I believe. Give back. To look after the younger generations, support them, nurture them, encourage them in this amazing world of hospitality.
There has been too much focus put upon – ‘What do I get from RACA?’
I hope you will agree with me, when I say, let’s focus on what we can bring – what each of us can bring – to the Academy and therefore this great industry.”
What has been going on:
Annual Awards of Excellence – many of you will have attended the AAE gala dinner at Claridge’s.
The event celebrated this year's achievers.
To see young people striving for excellence is profoundly reassuring.
They are passionate about their craft.
They are dedicated to what they do
And dedicated to how well they do it.
They are young and not long into this world of culinary arts, but they are dedicated to the art of making strangers happy. Because that is what makes them happy.
It is also reassuring to see so many young women succeeding in our industry.
This year’s mentoring was exceptional. I know first-hand that we have left a positive and meaningful impression on all the applicants.
I say ‘first-hand’ because this year a couple of my young chefs entered as applicants. Their feedback to me was heartwarming. They told me how enriching the process. Which I found truly inspiring and reassuring. We are not only providing competition but education. That it is precisely how it should be.
Linked to this, but also separate – Lisa has managed to piece together the Ramon Pajares bursary in association with the Savoy Educational Trust.
This will be offered to all our past AAE finalists to apply for.
It is a new initiative and it is very exciting.
2026 sees the next MCA.
I attended the initial planning meeting a couple of weeks ago and witnessed the level of commitment which is synonymous with this award. And it is the very best and highest award which a chef, pâtissier or service candidate can achieve here, in the UK. It’s the ultimate accolade. A symbol of perfection.
The winners are the stars of the future, and the future ambassadors of gastronomy.
I was inspired by the team’s willingness to be better and by their humility to regard the previous years of MCA as part of a learning curve, and not simply as a template. Expect great things to come.
It is something of which we should all feel very proud. And I am sure you will agree that at every opportunity we should support Idris, Adam, Yolande, Benoit, Sergio and Silvano. Please do begin to prime your stars of the future for this special award.
Helena has now moved on from adopt a school. Helena has devoted 10 years to nurturing and developing Adopt a School, from the original charity when it was under the management of Sara-Jayne Stanes.
We will always be grateful for her contribution and the growth she delivered.
The impact she had on AAS and its reach is quite remarkable.
There are some figures I’d like to share with you. Impressive figures which illustrate the successes of the Academy.
“In the last year the Adopt a School team has provided 16,330 child-sessions of food education. These have been provided at 129 schools or other settings.
Adopt a School Volunteers have delivered 4,700 child-sessions of food education. These have been delivered at 44 schools, visits to establishments and other settings.
The Chef on the Farm programme has been delivered 27 times to 810 children
And over 21,000 child-sessions of food education in a total of 21,140 hours of food education.
That’s about two and a half years of food education. ”
Lisa will give you an update on the restructure of the Adopt a School team a little later. But for now we have work to do because we need to remain relevant in this sector. And we need to ensure that AAS can widen its reach and stay current for today’s learners. Please continue to help and support wherever you can.
RACA Accredited Apprenticeship Programme and the Specialised chef
This is arguably the most important of all our RACA initiatives. Making a pathway for the talent of tomorrow.
It is a priority to ensure that the spec chef programme remains as the very best education a young chef can receive in Britain. And it is this by which we are held to account.
There are funding and curriculum challenges but there is still a belief and desire for this course to set the benchmark for all others.
There will be a renewed emphasis placed on academicians taking students. A higher expectation on input and engagement.
Only together can we support Neil Rippington, the education committee and the colleges to achieve excellence.
Seat at the Table is fantastic initiative that is actually based on an idea from our very beginnings – Club Nine. It is an initiative that you all know. I hope to make these more frequent, and more intimate. Each with a conversational subject line but very much about growing from each other’s company.
I am hoping to mobilise this in smaller tables of six. These can be signed up to and attended monthly – a subject for each table will be announced.
But more importantly, this is for academicians to thrive from the company of others. It’s for academicians to network, to learn, to make friends from strangers – and yes, to have fun and enjoy a first-class lunch with good company.
Priority will be given to new members and will include a member of our Alumni. Watch this space and please contact Lisa if you wish to host a table.
We are aware and are prioritising how RACA can add value to you as members. We will be ensuring that – in the future – there are many events and experiences
in which you can participate, and from which you will benefit.
Having said that, I would like to add something…
Which is to say that as academicians, part of our responsibility assumes we are in a position to give back to the wider industry.
That is our duty, I believe. Give back. To look after the younger generations, support them, nurture them, encourage them in this amazing world of hospitality.
There has been too much focus put upon – ‘What do I get from RACA?’
I hope you will agree with me, when I say, let’s focus on what we can bring – what each of us can bring – to the Academy and therefore this great industry.
I remain committed that we will be a force for change and good in hospitality, and that we will work hard to ensure that our industry is left in a better place than how we found it.
And that starts at home, in our own establishments.
Ladies and gentlemen, you have been kind – and thank you so much for listening.
Lisa Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts: CEO’s update
Good afternoon everyone, it is wonderful to be here in this beautiful room at The Dorchester with so many members of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. It is a pleasure to be here with you all.
Thank you to David and Adam for their updates and may I add my own thanks to the Dorchester team especially Martyn Nail and Richard Newell for setting this all up for us.
I would also like to welcome our honorary president Brian Turner CBE and president John Williams MBE and our trustees, David you have heard from, and we also have John Valentine, and Silvano Giraldin with us today – and one of our honorary board of governor members – Harry Murray.
Our senior team are all here too, Gary Jones and Lisa Goodwin-Allen, our co-deputy chairs, Mark Flanagan LVO, the chair of our sustainability committee, and Neil Rippington, our education chair. We also have representatives for the Annual Awards of Excellence in Phil Howard, our honorary president of the AAE, Alistair Birt MCA, Sergio Rebecchi, Martyn Nail, and Idris Caldora our new chair of the MCA.
In terms of an update from me, I would like to cover the following points:
• Adopt a School: New team and 35th anniversary
• RACA Membership
• Education: RACA College Community Programme and Northern Ireland
• New initiatives: Ramon Pajares Scholarship
• Events: Plenary dates and Seat at the Table
• PR
“I’d also like to bust a myth if I may: Adopt a School does not receive any financial support from The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. It does all its own fundraising. ”
So, to continue from Adam, I’d like to first share with you the changes we have made to the team at Adopt A School.
Helena Houghton, who had been with Adopt a School for 10 years, left us in August for a new position and her departure has allowed us to review the Adopt a School office team. Gemma Hopwood, who many of you may know, has increased her hours with us and will continue as the Adopt a School Programme Manager. Gemma will manage the day-to-day requirements of the programme and I will support her as much as she needs me.
Marie-Claire McGlade, who some of you will have interacted with, has joined RACA and Adopt A School as our bookkeeper.
We are also recruiting for a Programme Coordinator and a Grants & Bids Manager to complete the new Adopt A School team and support the programme’s future growth.
We are also delighted today - to welcome Amandeep Verrding, our new Adopt A School, London Regional Chef, who started with us just last week. Welcome Amandeep.
In terms of growth and maturity – next year marks the 35th anniversary of Adopt a School - launched by Sara-Jayne Stanes and some of our founding academicians back in 1990.
This is an opportunity for us to give the programme a little refresh – and for us to ask you all to re-engage with this incredible charity.
We have a roster of ideas for the 35th anniversary and Gemma and I will be sharing them with you all, both to our academy and Adopt a School databases very soon.
I’d also like to bust a myth if I may: Adopt a School does not receive any financial support from The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. It does all its own fundraising. Our academicians certainly give up their time for fundraising dinners and in delivering adopt a school sessions – but - that’s it. Every penny Adopt a School brings in for the school sessions is either donated by the industry, dinner guests, or our incredibly supportive donors.
I’d like to ask you all to re-visit your Royal Academy of Culinary Arts members’ charter, where we ask you all to support Adopt A School and the work that they do. Next year we will be asking the industry to get behind the charity as a whole.
Adopt a school has a couple of fund-raising dinners coming up for your diaries – and to support with products and / or prizes.
The next one in their schedule is the Annual Northern Fundraising Dinner at Hilton City Centre Liverpool. The Liverpool Take 6 Colleges organised by regional chef James Holden.
This year we have food sponsorship confirmed from Wellocks, Aubrey Allen and Flying Fish Seafood and a chef line up including academicians: Sabrina Gidda,
Nigel Haworth, and Leigh Myers of Wellocks and the executive chef at the Hilton Liverpool Francesco Mercuri.
Then on Thursday 6th February 2025 Adopt a School have their fundraising dinner at Westminster Kingsway College with thanks to academician Marc Whitley.
The chef line-up includes:
Young students from Westminster’s weekend course
Russell Bateman, The Falcon Castle Ashby, Deepak Mallya of the Ritz and
Julie Sharp and Mark Tilling, of Callebaut.
Do please speak to Gemma or myself if you would like to get involved.
Now on to The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and our membership and growth.
As Adam has said, the academy has had some changes over the last year to eighteen months, including a change of chair, a new senior team and membership has grown during that period.
Our new members’ events have been well attended by our new members, academicians and associates and we will be holding the final one of this year at Trinity Upstairs on the 4th of December.
I thought it would be beneficial to run through some of our new members in all categories:
In terms of academicians, we have quite a few new members here with us today, including Adam Bateman, executive chef at the Pan Pacific, and Lee Bye, chef patron of Tuddenham Mill, who joined as academicians in June 2023.
Eliano Crespi, executive chef at the (still to be opened) Six Senses, Martyn Lee, executive chef at Waitrose Food & Innovation, Helen Doyle, head pastry chef at 21 Hospitality, and chef consultant Sabrina Gidda who all came onboard last November quickly followed by Peter Prusaczyk, F&B Manager at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons.
And this year to date and here with us today: Michael D'Angelo, executive pastry chef at The Roof Gardens, Patissier and Chocolatier Alan Holloway and Taz Khan MBE, CEO and Founder of London's Community Kitchen.
It really is fantastic to have so many new members here today. You have been nominated and validated with references by existing academicians to join The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts because of your excellent credentials and investment in our industry. You have all signed the same charter as mentioned above and I believe you all have the same passion for the industry that the academy has celebrated for nearly 45 years.
When it comes to Associate members, the academy has some of the premier suppliers, specialists, and respected equipment manufacturers within its portfolio.
The most recent companies to join these ranks, and here with us today are:
- Grande Cuisine Limited, represented by director Steve Hobbs
- Le Marché, represented by director, Marcus Rowlerson
- Exclusive Ranges, represented by director Trevor Burke
- Signature FSE, represented by managing director Paula Sherlock
- Umbrella Training Limited, represented by CEO and founder Adele Oxberry
Our newest associate member – the Scottish Beef Club part of Quality Meat Scotland were unable to be with us today
We currently have 39 Associate academy members with one more being processed. You have all been nominated and voted in for your excellent reputations in the industry and the support that you give back in helping to nurture and support young talent.
With regards to our Friends members - we have plans to recruit more Friends members but are also mindful that we haven’t given you as much value as we should have over the last 12 months. We are trying to find a new chairman – so please bear with us.
Education: RACA College Community Programme and Northern Ireland
Our next agenda point is specifically around education and I’d like to take this opportunity to update you all on various educational projects.
The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts College Community Programme (or CCP) was launched in May this year after a successful bid for funding from the Savoy Educational Trust and it is exciting to announce our first five colleges to benefit from this funding.
They are: Brockenhurst, Colchester, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Cardiff & Vale.
Our CCP will complement the work we already achieve with our four accredited colleges: Bournemouth and Poole, City of Liverpool, University of Birmingham, and Westminster Kingsway, and will strengthen our presence across the country and enhance our educational support for colleges nationwide.
The CCP is an opportunity for college students and their lecturers to directly connect with experts and operators within the industry, enriching their learning and advancing their skills. Students will benefit from regional personal development sessions that offer tips on preparing for interviews and asking the right questions – insights that are essential for anyone looking to break into hospitality – as well as the opportunity to attend recruitment days and industry events.
I was delighted to be able to bring Neil Rippington on board as our CCP Director in May to coincide with the launch of this project and it has been both insightful and a revelation to visit the colleges together.
Our first activity with Brockenhurst College includes a visit to Westminster Kingsway College for a series of demonstrations, followed by a tour of some of London’s 5-star hotels.
Sheffield College is planning a collaboration to bring its students a live service and cookery demonstration hosted by RACA academicians John Hollywood, (Iconic Hotels) and Hrishikesh Desai (at Farlam Hall), and at Colchester we will be leveraging the power of some of our female academicians.
We will keep you updated on the CCP activities and the growing number of colleges we are connecting with. It is a timely reminder of the challenges facing further education in the UK, but an opportunity for our RACA family to inspire the next generation of hospitality students.
Do please speak to me or Neil if you would like to get involved with the CCP initiative. We need volunteers to connect to colleges across the country. We would like to get some of our associates involved and can look at sharing information with our linked colleges.
New initiatives: Ramon Pajares Scholarship
The new The Ramon Pajares Excellence Scholarship which the academy will run in partnership with the Savoy Educational Trust.
A renowned hotelier, Ramon Pajares spent 22 years with the Four Seasons in London before becoming managing director of the Savoy and was instrumental in the restoration of its hotel portfolio, which included the Savoy, Claridge’s, the Berkeley and the Connaught in London and the Lygon Arms in Broadway, Worcestershire, at a cost of £90m.
His success at the Savoy also drove up the value of the Savoy Educational Trust’s holding, where Mr Pajares served as a trustee for 23 years and chairman for six.
He was the winner of Hotelier of the Year in 1984, the Cateys Wine Award in 1989 and Special Award in 1997. He also received an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 1999.
The Ramon Pajares Scholarship set up in his memory intends to continue his legacy by endowing one individual and past achiever of the RACA Annual Awards of Excellence, the opportunity to ‘shine’ in the Pajares way. Someone who demonstrates excellence, a passion for people and a desire for self-improvement that benefits others.
We have funding for run this scholarship for ten years and the competition will run as follows:
We will contact all our previous Annual Awards of Excellence winners (from the age of 26-36) with the opportunity to enter for the scholarship.
They will be asked to answer two initial questions regarding their career progression, and how they might spend the scholarship prize to the benefit of their own development and that of their colleagues. Attention will be made to a reflection of Ramon Pajares’ management style reflecting mentorship, inspiration, patience, and kindness.
Successful shortlisted candidates will be asked to present to a panel of industry judges for the final question. The annual scholarship prize for the winner is £5,000
The winner must submit a report on the way they spend the scholarship prize money at regular periods post as a record of educational activities and accomplishments. They will be presented with their scholarship prize at the Annual Awards of Excellence Gala Dinner.
We will be launching this in January 2025 with an entry period from January to March 2025. It is an exciting new opportunity for our AAE achievers and we are excited to be managing this in conjunction with our existing portfolio of competitions and events – all focusing on education and development.
It is heartening to be working in a collaborative way with the Savoy Educational Trust, who are also funding several other projects that align with our Annual Awards of Excellence, the CCP and the Ramon Pajares Excellence Scholarship.
Springboard continue to benefit from SET funding helping high school children up to the age of 18 with their options for entering our industry. Hospitality Connect – a scheme set up for hotel groups to adopt a college which started in Manchester has also received funding and is now running in 10 regions in association with college careers fairs.
The Cornwall Hospitality Collective does similar work to Hospitality Connect in the South-West and are also delivering adopt a school sessions. And the Food Teachers Network, with half a million pounds in funding from are supporting school kitchen refurbishments and a campaign to recruit more food teachers into schools.
AND The RACA team are looking to organise an education forum next year for our academicians. To support them in new ways of leadership whilst balancing the need for discipline and standards in a workforce. We envisage this being a panel discussion, sharing best practice and leaderships styles. More details to follow.
Events: Plenary dates and Seat at the Table
In terms of our other RACA events and competitions, Adam has already given you an update on the Annual Awards of Excellence and the Master of Culinary Arts, but we are always looking for inspiration, prizes, and sponsorship for both awards and we continue to improve the entry and finalist stages with new prizes and networking opportunities.
Our Seat at the Table lunches this year sponsored by the University of West London have seen us take three sets of mixed member groups to The Shed in Marlow, and The Stafford and La Chapelle in London. Accounts of all three lunches and ideas shared can be found on our website.
The next two lunches for 2024 are being held at Pizarros at the Royal Academy of Arts and Kanishka. Oli will reach out to you with dates and invitations and we are starting to discuss our five locations for 2025
Our next plenary is being held at the Pan Pacific on the 4th November and thank you to those members who have already booked.
We are hoping to confirm the date of our first Plenary of 2025 at Raffles (and we will add that date to the website very soon). We are also planning a plenary at The Balmoral in Scotland in May and further details will follow.
PR
Today is a good time to introduce you to our new PR company - Eat PR. Their founder Andrew Taylor is here with us today. Andy and his team started with us this month and are already generating print and online coverage for us and supporting us on social media.
Daniel is continuing to create a database of members including locations, awards, committee membership etc for our website so that we can share this detail with you all. It’s an extensive piece of work and it will be going live by the end of the year with password protection so that it exclusively of benefit to our members alone.
Finally, a big thank you to Oli and Daniel for their support in organising the AGM today.
