Apprentice Fish Courses
with Felix Furrer
It is Saturday morning, 7:00 AM, and all of Zufikon in Aargau is asleep. All of Zufikon? No… in the small industrial district at Bianchi, work is already in full swing. Around 70 kilograms of fresh fish are being washed, scaled and gutted. Sea bream, trout and sole. Fifteen apprentices in their 3rd year from svgroup (Switzerland) companies have registered for today’s fish course. Felix Furrer, who has been working in the large-scale consumer sales division for over 15 years and is a trained chef himself, leads these courses.
What can apprentices expect from a fish course at Bianchi?
First, as a supplement to their training at vocational schools, we review the basic knowledge about fish in general. Then—and this is the real focus of our courses—fish are filleted. In day-to-day work at the companies, this is not always sufficiently possible for all apprentices. A fish buffet at the end is intended to show them the variety of saltwater and freshwater fish that they may never have seen before.
Do you receive “feedback” from the apprentices?
Yes, of course. It starts shortly after the welcome, when I ask them about their motivation for becoming a chef. Handling food, the daily, immediate feedback on the work they have done, the guests, being “creative”—these are frequent answers.
What is your motivation
on an early Saturday morning?
Working with and teaching young people is something I generally enjoy very much. It is also our sincere aim to support and motivate young aspiring chefs in their training. We promote the profession of chef as such. This starts at the grassroots level, as here with the apprentices, but of course also through other projects such as the national culinary team.
Mr Furrer, you are a trained chef yourself. Will you be cooking fish at home this evening?
(laughs…) This evening, my family and I will be having our excellent homemade Saucisse paysanne de St. Prex (farm sausage with white wine from St. Prex), which our butchery created for the opening of our Bianchi location in French-speaking Switzerland. Served with a delicious butter rösti and leeks. For today, we have had quite enough fish…