Teen with dwarfism banned from college cooking course for being a safety risk
14 replies, posted
https://www.indy100.com/article/teen-dwarfism-discrimination-college-heart-of-worcester-college-8509826
Eighteen-year-old Louis Makepeace is 3ft 10ins tall and says his height is the reason why his college banned him from a cooking course.
The student, who has achondroplasia, a form of short-limbed dwarfism, believes that he is being discriminated against 'because of his height', and that's the reason he has been
refused a place at Heart of Worcestershire College.
He was offered a conditional place for the Hospitality and Catering course on 16 August but said the college has since reversed their decision - and all because, he says, they told him
he is too small for the kitchen.
Senior staff, he said, called him a 'safety risk' to the other 14 students and would cause a 'disruption' if he got under their feet. The teenager fears that his dreams of becoming a chef
are over because of the 'humiliating' ordeal. Commenting on the events, Makepeace said:
It was really upsetting as I had my heart set on this course. We are supposed to have equality of opportunity yet I’m not allowed to do something I love doing. They are simply not
prepared to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate me such as making the surfaces and hobs lower.
We were prepared to be flexible and my mum said I could maybe do the cooking at home whilst the new equipment was installed but they kept saying no. They said I would be a health
and safety risk and disruption to the other students and get in their way, which was really humiliating.
He added that his 'disability was never an issue...I had lots of friends.' My confidence is shrinking and I feel that people stare and laugh at me. People just think I’m still a kid and will
push in front of me in queues. I just want to be treated as a normal person without them laughing at me and go around and do quite normal stuff.
According to his mum, the course leader told her it would be a 'good idea' to look for another course, but they're still waiting to get a firm answer from the college. She added:
Apparently it would take seven weeks for contractors to come in to make adjustments such as a lower surface and lower hobs and they weren’t prepared to wait. It wouldn’t be so bad
but there was a chap there several years ago who had the same condition as Louis and they adjusted the kitchens for him.
A spokeswoman for Heart of Worcestershire College said: “As the student’s place at the college is still under discussion, we do not wish to make a comment."
I can understand how his stature might be a safety risk to himself, not being able to reach things or what not.. not sure the argument that he'll get under people's feet can hold water though. It's quite degrading, he's not a small breed pet.
wtf I did Ochem with a person with dwarfism, they gave him a stool and i'd say working in a fume hood is much harder than cooking
Hmm... i don't know, in a busy kitchen a taller person might not actually notice him, he's 3'10 or 117cm tall. If you're holding a knife in your hand and turn around, it may actually be near the height where his throat would be.
I don't know though, i haven't worked in a proper kitchen nor am i a cook.
Gordon continues being a hero
Sucks that he got the sort end of the stick on this one.
Get under other people's feet? He's a man, not a fucking cat. What a bullshit excuse.
There's a reason you're taught to hold knives a certain way, and it's to prevent stabbing and cutting people on accident, no matter their height.
Ok. Gordon Ramsay and a mini-Gordan Ramsay.
This better become a thing or so help me god...
And for a person of average height in the same situation, you turn around and put a knife in someone's stomach.
What i meant is he's harder to notice. I've hit my dick in corners of tables in a busy job but i've yet to walk into a wall.
I mean, if you need something to tide you over.........
Gordon Ramsay's Porn Dwarf Double Eaten by Badger
I worked in a restaurant. You're supposed to hold your knife to your side tip down. Unless this person was laying down there's no way that he would "get his throat slit"
I think if the school is able to make adjustments, then it shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure he'd be a fine cook with certain accommodations. There's no problem with any competent kitchen staff running him over or not seeing him. I work with tiny chinese people, we do fine.
However, being that you normally go to school to eventually get a job, I feel like I have to say that he probably won't have an easy future finding a normal restaurant that will even be capable of making the same adjustments that this school has made in the past. For example, in the asian style setup with woks and steam tables, I mean you'd have to re-equip the entire restaurant with new custom made equipment, and it would be super difficult for the guy standing next to you operating the other woks. It just wouldn't be done. You can buy lower tables for grills and other cooktops, you can avoid using double stack ovens, etc, like there's things he can work around for sure, but I mean what about alto-shaams? Is he going to carry around a stool all day? What's he going to do in a western kitchen with a regular height oven and a giant soup pot on top of it?
I'm not worried about him running into a knife or any dumb shit like that, but like practical stuff, like who buys tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of new equipment for a single employee?
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