Teamwork learnt in Skegness helps Friskney teenager find success

Sixteen-year-old Peter Blevins received the Young Employee of the Year award in November last year for his work in the kitchen at Caxton House in Skegness.

Peter was helping owners Paul and Wendy Seabrook serve Christmas afternoon tea to the area’s business women when the Standard caught up with him again.

Earlier in the year the Skegness Grammar School student won an Archwright Scholarship bursary to study A-Level Engineering and Architecture and he also spends his spare time helping at his parents Peter’s Eden Farm, where a toilet block he designed is under construction.

He said: “I was absolutely amazed and thankful to win the award. Mum had been telling me to be polite when I answered the phone but had no idea I’d been nominated. Paul and Wendy are my parents’ friends and I started helping at Caxton House three years ago. I learnt my skills in the kitchen just watching them and then, when Paul got sick, I took on more jobs and responsibility. But I just did what anyone would do in those circumstances.”

In spite of discovering his cooking talents, Peter still has his eyes firmly fixed on an engineering career. He said: “The skills you learn in a kitchen - like any workshop - are transferable to any career. It’s about teamwork.”

Wendy said: “Peter is an exceptional young man. It’s been a great pleasure to help mentor him throughout the last few years, He has both aptitude and a willingness to learn to push himself to be his very best. This summer he has really stepped up supporting us here – not many 16-year-olds could have cooked breakfast for 28 guests and not be fazed about it. We are extremely proud of him winning the Young Employee of the Year at the Skegness Business Awards – it is richly deserved.”