A LOCAL hotel and restaurant which is turning away £4,000 worth of business a week because of staff shortages is cooking up plans to open a catering academy to encourage more people into the industry.

The award-winning Percy's at Coombeshead, which was hailed by tourism minister Kim Howells in the House of Commons as a 'real success story', is seeking seven school leavers from Okehampton and Launceston Colleges to take part in a pilot scheme in the summer.

With backing from the Government and South West Tourism, owners Tony and Tina Bricknell Webb aim to create an educational facility which has that same stamp of quality that their business has acquired over the last four years.

Percy's has won numerous honours for its hotel and restaurant, where the majority of the food used is locally sourced and organically produced, and was runner-up in the Best Small Hotel in Great Britain.

Mr Bricknell Webb said the staffing crisis at the hotel had been eased by employing a chef from Aberdeen. He had managed to get some Australian help but the ultimate plan was to provide jobs for local people.

The two nearest colleges to the hotel at Virginstowe are being targeted for talent and training will be up to NVQ Level Three. Links are being formed with Seale Hayne College where students will have the opportunity to go on to study a degree in catering.

'We regard it as very important to raise the profile of the hospitality business in the South West by providing well paid jobs and skilled people,' said Mr Bricknell Webb.

'There is a shortage of skilled catering staff but this industry is its own worst enemy because it has a reputation of using staff as slave labour. The whole employment system in the catering industry has to be restructured.'

He said because the South West was going into quality tourism where there was no price resistance to quality it enabled the hospitality business to pay good wages for quality staff.

Percy's has received substantial funds from South West Tourism to present the case for a catering academy and associated accommodation to the Learning and Skills Council and the South West Regional Development Agency.

Support for a catering academy has come from all sectors of the business community and Tim Smit from the Eden Project, NFU leader Anthony Gibson and West Devon MP John Burnett have all backed the project.

Holbart Manufacturing, who have a factory in Barnstaple, have agreed to equip the new academy and use it as a showroom for their products in the South West.

Three students have already been recruited to start training in the summer — one of whom is from Okehampton College.

College principal Chris Powell said it was an excellent initiative and he was hoping to provide a catering kitchen in the new technology block to link in with what Percy's was doing.

'At the moment students have to travel to Exeter or Plymouth to get the sort of training that Percy's is proposing to offer and that is one of reasons why we have a shortage of skilled people. I think it is going to be a great opportunity for the area.'

Chief executive of South West Tourism Malcolm Bell said Percy's name was synonymous with quality and would attract the best talent out there.