Casual dining group Giraffe, has announced it is opening a dedicated training academy on site at its first restaurant in Hampstead. G1, as it will be called, will open at the end of October and will introduce the next generation of team members and managers to the standards and hospitality that have helped establish the brand. Staff will learn core values and key skills under the dedicated tutorship of trainers both front and back of house.
The academy will continue to run as a restaurant with reduced pricing, starters at £3.25, mains £6.25 and desserts £3.25, while wines will range from £10-£15. The menu will regularly change over a four week period to train staff across the entire repertoire of dishes. The kitchen will also run daily specials in addition to experimental items some of which may be rolled out across the group. G1 will close on Mondays for group training and inductions, cook offs and culture days.
Russel Joffe, founder and managing of Giraffe, which is in the process of rolling out in Tesco stores across the country, said: 'As we move into our next phase of growth, the new G1 Academy will be the cornerstone of our training programme, fostering talent from all over the UK as well as offer an excellent value dining experience to our local and loyal customers.'
Giraffe have also announced a new partnership with People 1st, a government funded organisation who run programmes to help local unemployed people back into work. They will initially partner with People 1st for G1 and forthcoming openings in Tesco stores.
Having been brought by Tesco at the beginning of the year, Giraffe now operates in Tesco Extra in Watford and will open in Cheshunt and Abingdon before the year end
Still being run by founders Juliette and Russel Joffe, Giraffe operates 48 restaurants in the UK, five of which are located in airports and 1 restaurant in the UAE.