Inviting people behind the pass to experience a real professional kitchen
OPEN KITCHEN WEEK 2024 | 11-17 NOVEMBER
Open Kitchen, an initiative of Chef Network, opens up professional kitchens to anyone interested in a culinary career or curious about the opportunities professional cookery has to offer. For one week, chefs throw open their doors and invite the public to become guests in their kitchen and discover what it is like to work in a real professional kitchen.
This information on this page is for Open Kitchen hosts. If you want to be a Kitchen Guest during Open Kitchen Week 2024, you can find all the information and register to take part on openkitchen.ie/home.
This information on this page is for Open Kitchen hosts. If you want to be a Kitchen Guest during Open Kitchen Week 2024, you can find all the information and register to take part on openkitchen.ie/home.
Want to be Open Kitchen Week host kitchen?
One of the core objectives of Chef Network is to promote culinary careers and attract new talent to the chef profession. Open Kitchen supports this objective by showcasing positive kitchen environments, demonstrating the diversity of people and roles in professional kitchens, and telling positive stories about the career opportunities. We want to show that we are open and happy to invite people in, and aim to dispel stereotypes and negative perceptions about chefs and the environment in professional kitchens. Alongside this, we have worked for many years now to support positive work environments through initiatives like the Kitchen Workplace Charter and showcasing positive leadership.
By becoming an Open Kitchen host, you can help give people a positive insight into culinary professions and promote kitchen careers.
Be part of something positive and proactive to support the future of the sector.
Register to be an Open Kitchen Host below.
By becoming an Open Kitchen host, you can help give people a positive insight into culinary professions and promote kitchen careers.
Be part of something positive and proactive to support the future of the sector.
Register to be an Open Kitchen Host below.
How does it work?
Open Kitchen is about giving people a taste of real life in a professional kitchen. People come to your kitchen as guests, not workers, but should get an insight into the kitchen on a normal working day.
As a host, you will be asked to offer up to three kitchen guest slots during Open Kitchen Week. These can be anything from a couple of hours up to maximum 8 hours long. You will register your available slots on the dedicated Open Kitchen booking platform, where members of the public view, select, and can book them.
Before they come to your kitchen, guests will do a basic online induction to cover Food Safety, Healthy & Safety, and to agree to the Terms & Conditions of the visit.
As a host, you will be asked to offer up to three kitchen guest slots during Open Kitchen Week. These can be anything from a couple of hours up to maximum 8 hours long. You will register your available slots on the dedicated Open Kitchen booking platform, where members of the public view, select, and can book them.
Before they come to your kitchen, guests will do a basic online induction to cover Food Safety, Healthy & Safety, and to agree to the Terms & Conditions of the visit.
Who is Open Kitchen aimed at?
We are targeting Open Kitchen participation at anyone who might be considering their future career or a potential career change, as well as at anyone who influences career choices. This includes:
- School Students/School leavers
- Transition Year, Leaving Cert, Leaving cert applied
- Career Changers
- People looking to return to work/unemployed
- Student Chefs
- Teachers, Career Guidance Counsellors, TY Coordinators, Home Economics teachers
What does a kitchen visit involve?
The main objective is that the guest gets to experience how your kitchen really works and what a day in the life of a chef, baker, chocolatier etc in a real working kitchen is like. You can structure the day however best suits you and your team, but we suggest including some (or all) of the following:
- A tour of the kitchen
- An introduction to the main schedule activities for a normal day in the kitchen
- Introductions to the team
- Time with various staff members hearing directly from them about their role, their day-to-day work, and tasks
- Participation in one or two simple hands-on activities
Who can be an Open Kitchen host?
Open Kitchen hosting is open to Chef Network members across the island of Ireland who have signed up to the Kitchen Workplace Charter.
If you are not yet a Chef Network member, you can become one here. If you have not yet signed up to the Kitchen Workplace Charter, find out more and pledge your commitment here.
We are looking for a geographical spread – we want kitchens in every county, in every large town and city, any where and everywhere in Ireland and Northern Ireland to make the Open Kitchen opportunity accessible to as many people as possible.
We want all kinds of kitchens – it is important for us to showcase all sectors of foodservice and hospitality, all kinds of culinary professions and roles. Restaurants, cafés, or hotels, workplace or institutional catering, development kitchen, bakery, chocolatier or even ice-cream maker, we want them all.
There are, of course, some Terms & Conditions (see below) and there will be a limited number of host kitchen slots, so please register as soon as possible if you are interested in taking part. All registrations are subject to checks and approval.
If you are not yet a Chef Network member, you can become one here. If you have not yet signed up to the Kitchen Workplace Charter, find out more and pledge your commitment here.
We are looking for a geographical spread – we want kitchens in every county, in every large town and city, any where and everywhere in Ireland and Northern Ireland to make the Open Kitchen opportunity accessible to as many people as possible.
We want all kinds of kitchens – it is important for us to showcase all sectors of foodservice and hospitality, all kinds of culinary professions and roles. Restaurants, cafés, or hotels, workplace or institutional catering, development kitchen, bakery, chocolatier or even ice-cream maker, we want them all.
There are, of course, some Terms & Conditions (see below) and there will be a limited number of host kitchen slots, so please register as soon as possible if you are interested in taking part. All registrations are subject to checks and approval.
So you want to get involved? Here's how:
Head to Openkitchen.ie and:
Register below to be an Open Kitchen Host.
- Register for an account and set-up your kitchen profile
- Add your kitchen slots (up to 3 slots across the week on days and times that work for you)
- Once your registration is approved, your slots are ready to go live.
Register below to be an Open Kitchen Host.
So what happens next?
Open Kitchen opens to the public to book slots from mid-September. This will be announced through launch events and a national and regional media, and social media, campaign.
We will share graphics and content with you that you can share on your own platforms to promote your participation in Open Kitchen week.
The week before Open Kitchen Week, registered guests will complete their online induction and their booking details will be shared with you
We will share graphics and content with you that you can share on your own platforms to promote your participation in Open Kitchen week.
The week before Open Kitchen Week, registered guests will complete their online induction and their booking details will be shared with you
We ran a small-scale pilot Open Kitchen Week in 2023 – here’s what participants had to say
"I really enjoyed my experience; I am looking for a career in the hospitality industry and seeing a kitchen operate and taking part made me more excited about my future career."
"It was an excellent opportunity and a real eye opener… For me I always wanted to be a chef but wasn’t sure would it be a lot of pressure cooking in that environment, but I realised it wasn’t."
"Cooked up a storm during Open Kitchen week. I suspect that the event will be inundated with applications next year!!"
"It was an excellent opportunity and a real eye opener… For me I always wanted to be a chef but wasn’t sure would it be a lot of pressure cooking in that environment, but I realised it wasn’t."
"Cooked up a storm during Open Kitchen week. I suspect that the event will be inundated with applications next year!!"
Terms and Conditions for Open Kitchen hosts:
All Kitchen Hosts Must Be:
All Kitchen Hosts Must Be:
- A Chef Network member
- Be signed up to the Kitchen Workplace Charter
- Have dedicated staff member to manage Open Kitchen hosting, and a staff member to meet and supervise participants for the visit.
- Health & Safety – all kitchens must be fully compliant with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 and HACCP.
- Insurance – It is advised that participating kitchens complete a simple risk assessment. Your public liability insurers must be informed of your participation
- Members of the public taking part in the programme will be viewed as Food handlers and will be required to undertake a short on-line induction training in advance of entering your kitchen (provided by Chef Network).
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Please contact [email protected]
For general information/queries about Open Kitchen, contact [email protected]
For general information/queries about Open Kitchen, contact [email protected]
