Record year of competition success for UCB's College of Food

UCB’s College of Food is celebrating a record year of achievement in national and international competitions for 2015-16. 

Young chefs, bakers and front of house trainees have shone under the spotlight, picking up a total of 136 individual awards as well as representing Britain at the highest level. 

The most recent success came in the Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or contest, where a trio of Culinary Arts Management students took first place at a lavish awards presentation at The Dorchester in London. 

Students have excelled throughout the year at competitions such as WorldSkills, the British Cookery Championships, the annual conference of the Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees, the Sandwich World Cup, Turkey Chef of the Year and the Salon Culinaire in North Warwickshire. 

Elsewhere, chef lecturer Anthony Wright was selected to represent the UK at the European qualifier for the Bocuse d’Or in Hungary, handing a great experience to his commis chef and Culinary Arts Management student Thomas Downes. 

UCB is a finalist in the AA College Restaurant of the Year (to be announced in September) and is sending a team to the Culinary Olympics in Germany to represent Britain in October. 

Neil Rippington, Dean of the College of Food, said: “Competitions give our students a great opportunity to test their skills and showcase their talents to their peers, the industry and prospective employers. 

“UCB continues to build on the success of its competition teams and our students benefit hugely from our superb network of mentors. None of this would be possible without the determination, creativity and hard work of students and staff alike.” 

UCB Culinary Team Manager Mathew Shropshall said: “It’s been a real honour to mentor and support students within the UCB culinary team over the past 12 months. Students and staff have worked very hard to achieve the best ever year of competitions results for UCB. 

“The commitment and dedication within the front of house, bakery and chefs has been more than a match for other catering colleges and universities. I’m sure the experience will lead the students onto very successful careers within the hospitality industry.” 

Lecturers and prize-winners celebrated the year’s terrific achievements at a special reception at the University’s Summer Row site.