Damiano wins Cooks Company Award

Damiano Cardillo, Advanced Apprentice, Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant, Southport 
Qualification  completed:    L3 Professional Cookery     Training Officer: Martin Houghton

Damiano has worked in his parents’ restaurants for over 3 years as a part time and now full time chef.  He has developed from being a weekend help/assistant to a chef de partie in the kitchen brigade. Damiano started his L2 Apprenticeship at college but did not enjoy this experience. He was contacted by NLTG and signed on to the programme through work based learning. Since he started, Damiano has shown great skill and competence in areas such as: preparing, cooking and finishing fresh pasta, bread, pastry and sauces to a very high standard. Damiano has shown an excellent range of technical skills for such a young chef.  He also loves to learn, develop and practise his new skills in the kitchen, as he constantly tries to develop the menu.
 

As part of his L2 NVQ, Damiano had to achieve 100% in all the knowledge elements of each unit; he did so and showed a high level of practical based knowledge to good effect. Damiano also completed his Food Safety L2 Technical Certificate and passed that knowledge test as well. He has learnt a lot of new skills from going back to Italy to see his family, learning authentic Italian dishes using only the freshest local produce combined with the old fashioned ways of cookery, passed down from generation to generation in his extensive family. Damiano has brought these dishes and techniques home to his kitchen and adapted them to suit, with good feedback from customers and peers.

Damiano has shown a great deal of ownership towards his NVQ work.  In his L2 NVQ, he developed his own assessments, his own development and took all feedback constructively from his peers and supervisors. Damiano adapted his assessments by designing them to cover not just the basic criteria but using, in some instances, complex skills way above L2 standard. This is why Damiano was able to start his L3 Professional Cookery last year.  Again, he started to plan his assessments to a high standard, using complex techniques and broadening his own knowledge by research and self teaching.


Damiano has secured his own development with his employers, who are as keen for him to develop and progress to a high standard within the company.   Damiano has the ability to progress, self teach/learn and research possibilities to enhance his career. Since he started his NVQ trail, he has shown a great deal of enthusiasm, commitment and dedication to pursue his aim, to be the best chef he can be, and will do whatever it takes to achieve this. Damiano has great determination to achieve and will do what it takes, no matter what the time or cost, to achieve his goal.

Damiano has had past experience of college life, which he did not feel was the best route to learn for him.  Instead, he chose the work based route and has flourished ever since. He feels he can take ownership of his progress and develop at his own speed, which he has proven in the past; his L2 took 3 months less than expected/targeted and he achieved two extra units to enhance his Apprenticeship. He has opted to take more than the required units in his L3 and has targeted his units to good effect.
Damiano achieved a very high standard of work on his L2 and, for a chef of only 17 years old, this is an achievement on its own. During his planning of assessments, he would only source local, fresh produce to produce high class food.  For a young chef to be able to do this, then there is hope for the future of this industry.

Damiano and his parents are really pleased with his progress and have noticed a difference in him now, compared to when he was at college. I can honestly say that, in all my experience, I have not come across such a talented chef like Damiano at only 18 years of age.

Damiano is receiving Skills for Life support and has admitted his fear of literacy and numeracy from school; together we are supporting him and he is doing well.  As mentioned previously, Damiano had struggled with his NVQ at college before starting his L2 Apprenticeship (WBL).  Since then, he has progressed well and, with some extra support from the Skills for Life team, he has improved his numeracy skills to a higher level than identified at initial assessment. Damiano has decided to continue to carry on with numeracy support to help and assist him to the next level. This is not compulsory but, to maintain his constant progression, he feels he needs to continue with it. After deep discussion with his parents, school was always an issue when it came to maths and English lessons, but with support, he has made a brilliant improvement to the delight of him and his mum and dad. Damiano is an inspiration to young people and winning a Medal for  Excellence will hopefully show others that hard work and dedication does pay off!

Damiano has also won a prestigious award from ‘The Cooks Company’; this is also for his outstanding achievement in Professional Cookery in the Hospitality industry. Damiano is very pleased with his awards and his family are also very proud of his achievements, they know how much work and effort he has put into his career and would like to see him progress more and become a highly skilled chef of the future.

Speaking to his parents, his mum explained that his dad, who is also his mentor, is delighted to see his son achieve as he did not see much of him during his school years or attend parents’ evenings due to work commitments. By doing his NVQ work based, he can see his son progress and have a hand in teaching him new skills as a mentor and also his employer and parent; this he feels is very rewarding.