The Alchemist has announced an innovative partnership with SMART to cultivate young talent in the kitchen. Learn about their programme and our small contribution here:

We have supplied the front and back of house uniform for The Alchemist since they began with their first site in Spinningfields, Manchester back in 2010. Since then they have grown to be perhaps the premier cocktail bar chain in the UK with venues across the country, with 2 more London locations opening in the next 6 months.

There are a variety of factors that make The Alchemist unique. From their approach and diligence to the art of mixology to their commitment to developing the careers of each member of their team. After all, you don’t make it onto the The Sunday Times Top 100 companies to work for without being an industry leader in this field. But as is The Alchemist’s way, you can always add an extra ingredient to make something even more exceptional.

And that’s exactly what they have done with their new SMART training and recruitment partnership. They are offering 3 Commis Chef positions in their venues in Manchester and then a further 2 in Leeds and Nottingham. It is an 18 month programme designed to give the participants hands on experience of working in a busy, modern kitchen, whilst also receiving expert 1 to 1 training. They are targeting interviewees with little to no experience in the kitchen and providing them a platform to start a new career in food.

So when they approached us about providing a free uniform for their new trainees, we were honoured to play our part in this development programme. As our Managing Director Ian Mitchell states “we’re always delighted to help out with any apprenticeship project”. We wish The Alchemist, SMART and the trainees all the best for the future and we are completely confident that such a scheme will only be a resounding success.

Executive chef Seamus O’Donnell shares this confidence and says “Our kitchen philosophy here at The Alchemist is based on trust, honesty and reliability and we are extremely proud to be introducing our apprenticeship scheme in Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham. We have chosen to work alongside SMART training and recruitment, as it’s apparent our values are aligned and most importantly, are equally passionate in developing the people of the future. We look forward to welcoming our first apprentices into The Alchemist team.”