If “Heston” means anything to you, it’s probably either (the dull answer) as the last service station on the M4 before you get to London, or (the more exciting one) experimental chef Heston Blumenthal.

If you know anything about the chef, passion will be one of the words you’d probably use to describe his approach. And, after my visit to Heston Community School yesterday, passion is certainly the word I will associate first with Heston.

I was at the school as one of the judges for their Youth and Philanthropy Initiative project. Eight teams made a pitch explaining why the local charity they favoured deserved to get the £3,000 that we had available to award them (courtesy of YPI’s sponsors).

We saw some great imagination in the pitches, and evidence of lots of research, but what stood out was their passion: passion ran through every pitch. We were left in no doubt at all that these young people cared very much indeed about the sick and disabled kids, the battered women, the Alzheimer patients and the others they presented to us. No wonder the teacher who did such a fine job leading the event said how proud he was of them.

Now consider your role as an HR professional with the chance to offer these young people a job when they finish their studies. What an opportunity! If you can link their passion to the core of your business, you’re away.

That’s easier, of course, if you work for a charity. And tougher (at least in my eyes) if you write software for a bank, as one of my fellow judges does. But Heston Blumenthal shows us what can be done: his passion has brought him not just the highest praise for his food, but also real commercial success.