Professional Chef lecturer stars in Channel 4 undercover show

Emily Merricks, a lecturer at Capital City College’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, has taken part in a Channel 4 programme which shines a light on potential FE educators.

Capital City College (CCC) lecturer Emily Merricks recently starred in Undercover Education, a Channel 4 show presented by Konnie Hu. The series targets industry professionals who have the potential to teach in Further Education and shows them how their expertise and experience could benefit students. In order to highlight a fellow chef’s natural ability to inspire and guide less experienced team members, Emily posed as a novice and brought controlled chaos into the kitchen – with heartwarming results.

In the first episode of the series, Emily, who currently teaches first year Professional Chef students at CCC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, pretended to be completely inexperienced in the kitchen during a cooking lesson from seasoned professional Craige Floate. 

Craig was invited into the kitchens at the college’s Westminster Centre to conduct a cooking session with a trainee that he thought was considering a career in the Culinary Arts.

Craig has been a chef for over 25  years and runs his own catering company. He said: “I kind of got the bug from watching my mum cook in the kitchen. We grew up on a council estate, didn’t have a lot of money, [I was] one of three boys so she was just making simple home-cooked food for us every day.”

During the episode, three of Emily’s own CCC students, Reanna, Aaron and Oscar, influenced her actions by secretly directing her to carry out a series of deliberate fails while preparing her dish. Despite Emily’s antics, which included complaining, making a mess, ignoring instructions and even dropping a finished dish, Craig remained unphased. He demonstrated his natural teaching talent by maintaining a calm, patient and good-humoured approach throughout, and even took responsibility for last-minute changes to the final dish which were caused by Emily dropping a plate of food. 

During the show, Emily said: “He’s handling it really well. He’s being really nice and going over things with me more than once to make sure I get it right so he’s putting me at ease a lot.”

At the end of the show, presenter Konnie Huq revealed the ruse and asked Craig if he would consider a career in Further Education, Craig said: “I’ve had some really good teachers when I was a young chef. You get so much from someone that’s passionate, looking after you, pushing you forward, explaining the way to do things properly and do things properly – I’d definitely consider it.”

We spoke to CCC lecturer Emily after the show had aired to find out more about her experience on and off the screen.

How did you get involved in Culinary Arts? 

I actually trained at Westminster myself, achieving the Professional Chef Diploma and graduating in 2007. I then went out into the industry, gained lots of experience and knowledge, and came back to the college in 2021 as a lecturer. 

What inspired you to take part in the show?

When the idea was pitched to me, it sounded like a lot of fun, but, more importantly, it was a great way to highlight the importance of the Further Education sector.

What did you enjoy about taking part in the show?

It was a lot of fun being able to take the place of a student – there were so many funny moments. It was great to see how Craig reacted so calmly and professionally to anything I threw at him. 

What do you enjoy most about teaching at CCC? 

I love being able to see the incredible progress our students make throughout their time with us. When they start with me in the first year, everything is new to them, and it’s great to see them grow into confident chefs. 

What do you think makes a good FE teacher?

Patience and understanding is key – also having a lot of industry experience under your belt.

What makes Capital City College a great place to study Culinary Arts?

CCC is a fantastic place to  study as we have an excellent teaching team with a wealth of experience and passion for Culinary Arts. Our restaurant venue, The Vincent Rooms, allows the students to get real working environment training to set them up for a great career. 

If you’re a budding chef or have an interest in hospitality, take a look at our wide variety of Hospitality and Culinary Arts Courses led by experienced industry experts.

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