Michel Roux is on a personal mission; to take eight young people who have never considered a career in restaurant front of house, and prove to them that it is an industry that can change their lives. In just two months he wants to take his trainees from the high street to the high end - learning skills that will enable them to take over service at his own 2 Michelin starred restaurant. Ultimately Michel will choose the best two trainees and award them life-changing scholarships.
This time Michel wants his trainees to understand the importance of serving people at life's special occasions. They travel to the affluent Cheshire countryside, home of some very wealthy diners and some equally exclusive restaurants. Their destination is a top-notch brasserie, the regulars of which include premiership footballers and their wives. Here regular diners come to celebrate their birthdays or anniversaries. Michel wants to see how his charges instinctively cope with the intimate, attentive service demanded at the brasserie. So his trainees are immediately immersed in the task of serving a private lunch for a party of women who regularly meet up there. The trainees need to learn fast, as in two days time Michel wants them to run service for the whole brasserie during a busy evening service. Michel arranges for the trainees to serve at one couple's very special day, their wedding, and they have only one chance to show the standard of care and attention to detail that Michel demands.
Back at the brassierie, over 100 diners are booked in to the restaurant's two floors. With some very demanding customers, it's a night that will test attention to detail, attentiveness and efficiency. With a complex menu of specials, and a long wine list, the trainees' knowledge will be put under severe scrutiny.
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Now nearly half-way through their training, Michel takes his trainees out of the restaurant, and into the world of five-star hotel service. Over a busy bank holiday weekend, the trainees' challenge is to serve the high-paying guests at an exclusive country house hotel in the heart of Dartmoor, where the motto is 'the guests can have what they want, whenever they want it'.
Some of the trainees, like Ashley and Brooke, are eager to show Michel how much they want one of the two scholarships he will be ultimately awarding. They throw themselves into meeting and greeting the high-paying guests, the 24-hour room service and the challenges of formal dining.
But for other trainees the demanding guests and the opulent surroundings make them question whether a career in high-end service can ever be for them. Single parent Nikitta feels out of place and ill at ease. Privately educated James bristles when asked to serve a family in the intimate setting of their own guest chalet; 'I feel like their servant'.
Michel wants his trainees to pull together and take over a very special evening service; the hotel guests all wish to dine al fresco. Out on the terrace every mistake will be amplified and there is nowhere for the trainees to hide.
This time Michel wants his trainees to understand the importance of serving people at life's special occasions. They travel to the affluent Cheshire countryside, home of some very wealthy diners and some equally exclusive restaurants. Their destination is a top-notch brasserie, the regulars of which include premiership footballers and their wives. Here regular diners come to celebrate their birthdays or anniversaries. Michel wants to see how his charges instinctively cope with the intimate, attentive service demanded at the brasserie. So his trainees are immediately immersed in the task of serving a private lunch for a party of women who regularly meet up there. The trainees need to learn fast, as in two days time Michel wants them to run service for the whole brasserie during a busy evening service. Michel arranges for the trainees to serve at one couple's very special day, their wedding, and they have only one chance to show the standard of care and attention to detail that Michel demands.
Back at the brassierie, over 100 diners are booked in to the restaurant's two floors. With some very demanding customers, it's a night that will test attention to detail, attentiveness and efficiency. With a complex menu of specials, and a long wine list, the trainees' knowledge will be put under severe scrutiny.
---
Now nearly half-way through their training, Michel takes his trainees out of the restaurant, and into the world of five-star hotel service. Over a busy bank holiday weekend, the trainees' challenge is to serve the high-paying guests at an exclusive country house hotel in the heart of Dartmoor, where the motto is 'the guests can have what they want, whenever they want it'.
Some of the trainees, like Ashley and Brooke, are eager to show Michel how much they want one of the two scholarships he will be ultimately awarding. They throw themselves into meeting and greeting the high-paying guests, the 24-hour room service and the challenges of formal dining.
But for other trainees the demanding guests and the opulent surroundings make them question whether a career in high-end service can ever be for them. Single parent Nikitta feels out of place and ill at ease. Privately educated James bristles when asked to serve a family in the intimate setting of their own guest chalet; 'I feel like their servant'.
Michel wants his trainees to pull together and take over a very special evening service; the hotel guests all wish to dine al fresco. Out on the terrace every mistake will be amplified and there is nowhere for the trainees to hide.
BBC2 * 19-20 January 2011 * 2 x 60 minutes
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