Operational Empowerment
Craft Scholarship
Craft Scholarship 2017
Aisha Elshani, Head Chef at Honeycomb and Co in Edinburgh
"I’m currently Head Chef at Honeycomb and Co in Bruntsfield in Edinburgh. I joined them in April ahead of them opening in May 2017. Before that I worked at The Scottish Café and Restaurant.
I work in an environment where keeping up to date with current trends is very important and I want to do this to the best of my ability so I need to keep learning and to keep pushing my own boundaries. I was delighted to take part in the HIT Pastry Masterclass scholarship in 2015, and this year I applied for a Craft scholarship to help me improve my overall techniques and skills.
I also want others to benefit from my learning, so any knowledge I gain I continue to pass on to others through the night class I teach once a week. It’s great for me to have the opportunity to do that, as I really feel I’ve given back to the industry and am helping others perfect their own cooking skills.
I always like to be inspired by the best people the industry has to offer, so it was great to get the opportunity to work with BBC Bake Off Crème de la Crème winners Helen Vass and Mark Tilling who were creating the dessert for the HIT POETS Lunch at the Doubletree by Hilton in Glasgow.
Producing a dessert for over 500 people isn’t easy! They created a Madagascar dark chocolate mousee with Scottish raspberry jellies, pistachio air sponge, and macerate raspberries.
Helen and Mark were great teachers and were positive throughout, you felt like part of their team even though we had only just met. The main lesson was to be very well prepared when producing something for so many people! The dessert was stunning and I learned numerous techniques. It was amazing to see the finished 550 plated desserts, and I can't wait to recreate it for my customers.
I’d definitely recommend a craft scholarship to any chef looking to improve their techniques or learn new skills, as it’s an experience that can only help you in your quest to be the best in a professional kitchen!
Helen Vass added: “I am so proud to be involved with HIT Scotland as they are a charity that have supported me from the start of my career and now I feel it is my time to pass on what I have learned to the future chefs of our industry. Aisha was great fun to work with and so keen to learn new things that she can apply in her current job. Any time Aisha needs help or has any questions, I will always be open to help her out.”
Aisha must be doing well, she was spotted doing one of the pastry demonstrations at the Foodies festival!
Craft Scholarship 2017
Ross Cochrane, Head Chef at the Prince Charles Restaurant, Rothesay Rooms in Ballater
"I was delighted to receive a HIT Scotland craft scholarship for winning North East of Scotland Chef of the Year. The competition requires you to prepare and cook three courses which are on the menu at your own establishment, using North East of Scotland produce, in season, and sourced from local suppliers, and it was fantastic to win this.
I’ve been cooking for 14 years, and have worked with some fantastic chefs. I started my career in Aberdeen, then spent some time working under a London chef who encouraged me to head south, where I spent a few months working for Gordon Ramsay. With a young family back in Aberdeen, I felt I wanted to continue my career in Scotland, so returned to climb the Aberdeen chef ladder. I spent some time working in St Andrews with Masterchef finalist Scott Davies, who know heads up the award winning Three Chimneys in Skye, and then became Head Chef at the Palm Court Hotel, where I won the North East of Scotland Chef of the Year competition.
For my scholarship, I asked if I could spend a week at Tom Kerridge’s Hand and Flowers gastro pub in Marlow, the only UK pub to be awarded two stars in the Michelin guide. I’ve followed Tom’s food style for many years, and it would give me the opportunity to see another fantastic chef in action, see how they put together menus, and what makes them special enough to gain 2 Michelin stars.
It was an eye opening experience for me, and I learned a lot of new and different techniques which I plan to use in my own cooking. The attention to detail and the passion that goes into a 2 Michelin star kitchen was something I’ll never forget.
Working with top class chefs has been a great inspiration for me, and no matter how long you’ve been a chef, you should be continually learning and updating your skills, to help the kitchen you work in be the best it can be. In September I became Head Chef at the Rothesay Rooms in Ballater, owned by Prince Charles, so I hope to take all I have learned over the years into this new role, and encourage those working for me to show their potential and become great chefs.
I’d definitely recommend a HIT craft scholarship, as you learn so much, and these experiences help grow a chef’s passion and commitment to the industry. So get applying!"