Professional Cookery聽students at UCB were treated to a packed programme of classes from industry experts last week, in a half-term break with a difference.
Activity Week, featuring live demonstrations from The Ritz in London and Edgbaston鈥檚 Simpsons Restaurant, gave students a unique insight into the life of a chef and the host of career options at their fingertips.
Ken Crossland from the organisation Hospitality Action kicked off proceedings with a hard-hitting talk on the drug and alcohol issues currently affecting the hospitality industry. A masterclass from Chef Director of Simpsons Restaurant Luke Tipping followed, cooking a signature dish from his Michelin-starred menu - pork cheeks with crispy onions and smoked eel cream.
Mark Morrans, Head Chef at Se帽or Ceviche Peruvian restaurant in London, wowed students with a demonstration making a classic Peruvian dish of octopus and sea bass ceviche in 鈥榯iger鈥檚 milk鈥�, while South African chef Petrus Madutlela gave a lively Q and A about South African cooking and his role as head chef at the Poet restaurant in Kent.
Finally, the week was rounded off with something sweet 鈥� a masterclass on artisanal chocolate making for a small group of Level 3 students by high-end French chocolatiers Valrhona.
鈥淭his week wasn鈥檛 just about learning new recipes,鈥� said the College of Food鈥檚 Assistant Dean John Penn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about students finding out everything they could possibly need to know about being a chef 鈥� different cuisines, levels of cooking, the current issues affecting the industry and how to strike that all-important work/life balance.
鈥淲e have had great feedback from students about every session, and it has been a pleasure to see them learn from such a spread of industry leaders.
鈥淚n the end, sessions like this are all about employability, and students have definitely come away from this week with a much clearer idea of the exciting career options ahead of them and exactly what they need to get there.鈥澛�
