TV chef praises College facilities

Celebrity chef James Tanner dropped into the College this week and gave the thumbs-up to our world-class catering facilities.

The BBC's Saturday Kitchen and Ready Steady Cook regular was in the College as a judge for the prestigious Nestlé Toque d'Or competition, between student chefs from Bristol, Blackpool, Ayr and Devon, while our own food service students served up the menu to around 100 paying guests each day.

The contest was just one in a long line of top industry events that the College has hosted.

James said: "I've really enjoyed being involved with this competition - it’s good to see different concepts each day, and the food service students have done a great job, really getting involved in everything.

"And what a place to do it in - the facilities here just blew me away and I only wish more kitchens were like this.

"It's unbelievable that students have facilities of this standard and being involved in such a professional set-up will instil good habits for when they go into the industry."

Each of the four teams took over our restaurants for a day to turn their Place to Eat concept into a reality and, with the help of the food service students from the College, served the dishes according to their chosen theme.

College food and beverage co-ordinator Rob Smith said: "It's been great that our own food service students have been able to get involved with this competition, and they’ve all done really well in helping turn the teams’ plans for the restaurants into reality."

The winners of the contest will be announced at a ceremony in London later this year.