About Us
Axtell Food Safety
Axtell Food Safety (formerly Kent Food Safety & Ford Training) was founded in 2006 by David Axtell. We provide a range of accredited food safety, health & safety, HACCP and Allergens training wherever you are.
We also provide food safety audits to food businesses, which provide an independent assessment of your food safety practices. We pride ourselves on running fun, interactive training sessions, using things such as; an ultraviolet handwash demo/practical, dead food pests, card games & quizzes to bring your courses to life. All courses can either be run online with Zoom, or at your premises. Please contact us to discuss your own requirements.

Why choose Axtell Food Safety?
By using Axtell Food Safety, you will get:
– all courses are run by qualified trainers who are Environmental Health Practitioners
– our auditors and trainers have practical experience within the food industry
– all of our courses, whether remotely on Zoom or at your premises, are interactive, relevant, engaging, and fun
– all courses can be run at a time to suit you, including evenings and weekends
– our Highfield Qualifications courses are regulated qualifications and so recognised by enforcement authorities
– our courses are recognised by MCA and so suitable for those working at sea
-our courses are brought to life using real life examples and case studies, with chance to ask any questions


Our interactive training
We use a range of teaching methods and training aids to ensure the training is memorable and effective. We use quizzes, card games, sample questions, group work and case studies. Ultraviolet handwashing experiments are used to demonstrate effective handwashing




Meet the Team
Dave Axtell
Owner / Lead Trainer
Whilst running an accredited Highfield Qualifications training centre, David teaches subjects including health and safety, food hygiene, risk assessment & haccp in care homes, pubs, restaurants, takeaways, schools, gyms, hotels, bakeries, nurseries, people working at sea and for contract catering companies. Having now trained well over 2000 accredited courses in a range of subjects, David has more than enough experience to make even the most tedious course interesting!
Having a first class honours Environmental Health degree and NEBOSH National General Certificate, David also carries out safety audits in the UK and abroad for national and international Caterers, Retailers, Hotel brands and Restaurant chains.
“After working in catering for 16 years,” says David, “I have sat through many courses – some good, some not so good. Since becoming a trainer I have been determined to make sure that all courses I run are interactive, fun, relevant, and informative, not the ‘very long, boring day’ which some courses can turn into.”
David’s experience includes:
- 6 years Kitchen Manager and Chef Trainer experience for branded restaurants: setting up, recruiting, training staff and food safety audits for new and existing pub restaurants.
- 10 years chef experience in care homes, contract catering, restaurants and pubs.
- Check out my LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidaxtell1/
Calvin Hanks
Safety Trainer
Having trained as a chef then undertaken what was the HCIMA professional exams, Calvin moved in hotel food and beverage then General Management. He has run multiple catering and hospitality businesses and likes to keep hands on in the kitchen. To complement his MSc in hospitality management, he is currently working on the dissertation to achieve an MSc in Environmental Health.
Calvin has a wealth of experience in event management and is ideally palced to run a range of food safety and health and safety courses, and carries out food safety audits.
Mark Coates
Safety Trainer
Mark was an accomplished General Manager who has 20 years’ experience in all aspects of the hospitality industry both in the UK and the USA. He worked for Pizza Hut and Mongolian Barbeque UK before taking his skills to the USA for 7 years to help Mongolian Barbeque US implement their expansion programme.
He has also worked for Holiday Inn (U.S), The Palm Restaurant Group (New York), Austin Grill (U.S) and Henley Regatta, to name a few. With Marks experience, his courses are always well received, being well placed to speak from experience. Marks runs Food Safety courses, along with Health & Safety, Manual Handling, and COSHH.
Nick Dore
Safety Trainer
I am currently delivering bespoke training courses and Highfield Qualifications courses.
I am approved to deliver Level 2 – 4 Food Safety, Level 3 – 4 Health and Safety, and Level 3 Award in Food Allergen Management for Caterers.
I have worked as a food safety advisor and trainer since 2003. I hold a Certificate in Education (Level 5 training qualification) and prior to this I managed pubs and restaurants.
We work with hundreds of companies
from smaller aspirational businesses to some of the most respected global brands.






Industries we cover
We are happy to tailor any of these qualifications to include your businesses policies.

Cafes & Takeaways

Care Settings & Hospitals

Childcare Settings

Schools & Universities

Groups & Churches

Food Manufacturers

Golf Clubs, Hotels & Spas

Event Catering

Pub & Restaurant Groups

Food Retailers

Super Yachts & Ships

Pubs & Restaurants
Give us a call on 01843 482252 to find out more or to make a booking
What people say about us
Don’t just take our word for it – here are just some of the lovely messages we receive
“Feedback from our staff included, ‘The enthusiasm of the trainer and laid back approach which enabled me to take more in’.”
“We chose Axtell Food Safety for their expertise, and will definitely be using them again in the future.“
“The course was extremely relevant to our business and the staff enjoyed it, I will definitely use Axtell Food Safety again”