Young trainees visit France as part of partnership programme.

They say a change is as good as a rest. Which is probably good news for Glen Duckett, the man who has spent the past five years turning Ramsbottom’s Eagle and Child pub into a successful multi-award winning business.

This month there will be a change as Glen will travel with a group of trainees from Ramsbottom’s French twin town, Angouleme. It was after a chance meeting the partnership came about. And it has presented young people with an opportunity to take part in the Gastronomades food festival where they will do demonstrations, work with other young people and visit some of the area’s top food and drink suppliers. The Eagle and Child is also hosting ERASMUS students as part of the partnership. They will work at the pub for three months.

‘This kind of experience isn’t something that is easily come across,’ said Glen. ‘It gives opportunities that these young people wouldn’t usually get and really fires their imagination.

‘We’ve done this before and when they come back they are so enthusiastic and full of ideas. It’s fantastic to see.’

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It is one of a number of projects Glen has undertaken to nurture new talent in the industry. Earlier this year young people in Stacksteads took part in a pop-up restaurant scheme. The group spent several weeks learning the different disciplines of running a restaurant as well as meeting with food producers. They then hosted the restaurant for four nights. It has even led to job opportunities for some of them, including employment at Glen’s sister venues, The Stables and The Pavilion, in Heaton Park.

‘It was about focusing on supporting disadvantaged young people into work as well as focusing on great local produce,’ he said. ‘It was a huge success and the people involved got a lot out of it.

‘It was in a part of Lancashire that is very isolated and deprived and it opened them up to new opportunities and different things going on around them.’

As well as giving young people new opportunities, the Eagle and Child is also set to get a makeover with a refurbishment. It won’t just have a new look - there will also be an orangery and five new boutique bedrooms turning the well known dining pub into an inn. The work is expected to be completed early next year.

‘There will still be the same great food and service,’ said Glen. ‘But we will be able to offer even more for our diners. It is a busy but exciting time for us.’