In late February, an eager group of Compass Group employees completed the Chip Group’s largest training session – learning everything there is to know about deep fried chips. A total of 60 kitchen staff from across seven Halls of Residence attended the workshop hosted by Kate Underwood, Training and Education Manager of The Chip Group, and coordinated by Margaret Thorsen, Dietitian from Compass Group New Zealand (Compass).
Our chip training was included as part of the Compass and Victoria University induction training programme. Compass is a national food and support services provider responsible for a number of different sectors and sites across across New Zealand including seven Victoria University Halls of Residence in Wellington. The company’s people are responsible for feeding those students living on campus at the following halls: Te Puni Village, Weir House, Cumberland Hall, Capital Hall, Katherine Jermyn Hall, Joan Stevens Hall and Boulcott Hall.
Compass Group staff training at Victoria University
With most attendees having never heard about The Chip Group before, upon completing the ten video training session, they were well on their way to becoming deep fried chip experts. It covered everything from chip size, portion size, type of oil, basket drainage, oil temperature, type of oil and so much more. Each attendee will receive an Official Chip Group Certificate as well as a Training badge to acknowledge their efforts.
We were thrilled to see such positive feedback from the staff who attended, with comments such as: “I’ve never heard about The Chip Group before. I think it’s awesome. Good job, thank you!”, “well presented”, “A for awesome”, “very informative”, and “well explained with great examples”. Most peopleagreed that the most rewarding part of the seminar was gaining a Training Certificate.
It was a great opportunity to encourage staff to improve their deep frying techniques and produce lower fat chips (and other fried foods) for those students permanently living at these University Halls. We had an incredible turnout and look forward to working with other Compass teams around the country.