Posted: 05/06/15
Graduates to serve-up gastronomy and glamour
Professional cookery and hospitality students at West Nottinghamshire College are set to showcase their foodie flair and slick service.
Graduating students (from left) Rosie, Daniel, Craig, Dan and Emma practice in the kitchens of Refined.
Trainee chefs Rosie Bispham, Daniel Orwin and Craig Hadden and, aspiring front-of-house professionals Emma Etches and Dan Moore, are putting the final touches to their graduation next Friday (12 June, 2015) with an evening of gastronomy and glamour.
The glittering event will see almost 60 diners enjoying cocktails and a six-course extravaganza in the college’s fine dining restaurant, Refined, which students help run as part of their studies.
Graduating from the NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery, Rosie, Daniel and Craig have combined their catering creativity to devise an imaginative menu that includes beef ‘Bovril’ jelly, confit salmon, cauliflower velouté, saddle of lamb, coffee parfait and ‘rhubarb and custard’ mille-feuille.
Nineteen-year-old Craig, from Rainworth, said: “We’ve prepared some of the dishes in Refined previously but have put our own twist on them this time around, while others have been created from scratch – so it’s really personal.”
NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership graduates Emma and Dan will manage the front-of-house operations after first decking out the restaurant in an elegant black and white colour scheme – with a celebratory cake decorated with iced graduation-style mortar boards and scrolls forming the centrepiece.
Dan, 20, from Shirland, Derbyshire, said: “The chefs are leading the kitchen team and Emma and I are leading on front-of-house. There will be a lot of pressure knowing our friends and family are there, but it’s a great opportunity to show what we can do.”
Emma, 18, from Mansfield Woodhouse, said: “I’m really excited about staging our own evening and making it a stylish occasion that everybody can enjoy.”
The night brings to an end this academic year’s series of graduations, which give professional cookery and hospitality students the chance to show off their newly-acquired skills to friends and family before embarking on their careers.
In addition to working in Refined, the graduates have juggled college with part-time jobs in local restaurants and bars. They are now looking forward to starting permanent job roles upon finishing their studies.
Rosie, 19, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, is set to become a full-time chef at the Fountain Bridge pub and carvery after leaving college. Her job offer came shortly after she started an evening and weekend position at the Sutton-in-Ashfield eatery.
Eighteen-year-old Daniel, from Newton, Derbyshire, will be relocating to Devon to work as a chef at Radius 7, a Dartmouth restaurant owned by a family member, which sources all its produce within a seven-mile area.
Craig has been offered a full-time chef’s position at the Black Bull Bar and Bistro, Blidworth, where he has worked for more than a year. He hopes to combine this by securing work experience at fine dining restaurants to learn more about different types of cuisine.
Emma will see her newly-secured part-time floor and bar staff job at the Sutton-in-Ashfield branch of Frankie & Benny’s become a full-time position in July. She is also thinking about applying to the European Bartender School, based in Manchester, to study cocktail-making next year.
Meanwhile, Dan is looking forward to getting stuck-in to his new job as restaurant manager at popular Mansfield venue, andwhynot, which he recently secured just four months after originally joining as a part-time member of floor staff.
