NEWS IN DETAIL...
French Catering Experience for College Student
A catering student from Cornwall College St Austell has recently returned from an exciting trip across the channel to work in a five-star hotel kitchen, the Grand Hotel Barriere in Dinard.
Andrew Weatherly, 37, currently studying the NVQ Level 3 Kitchen and Larder course, got the opportunity to work alongside the hotel’s permanent chefs and got to work on a range of different dishes, including seafood, duck and special garnishes.
The opportunity was set up through Andrew’s lecturer Steve Rudd. Steve commented: “It is great for our students to have the opportunity to work in a wide range of different restaurants and learning experiences. From all reports Andrew did the college proud and learnt a great deal.”
During the two week visit he also had the opportunity to visit an Oyster farm and local fish preparation area, where the daily catch is cleaned and prepared ready to be sold.
As well as all this Andrew also spent some time at Hotelier Lycee which is a specialist catering college in France. Here he got to try his hand at a number of different dishes. “I think the most interesting dish I learnt to cook was the frog leg dish, but at the college I also made a lobster and vanilla hollandaise which was a very new combination for me, it was definitely an acquired taste.”
Cornwall College are currently in the process of offering free tasters in a hugely wide variety of course areas including catering. To find out more visit www.cornwall.ac.uk.
Andrew, who currently works for Rick Stein in Padstow, is hoping he will be able to come back to the college next year to study the pastry course. When asked about the differences in the cooking styles he said: “The contrasts between French and British cuisine is quite large, the French simplify dishes a lot more and use some really quite varied food combinations.” He added with a smile: “Overall I would still say the British are better chefs.”
Dave Linnell, Principal of Cornwall College, said: “This really was a great opportunity and well done to Andrew for making the most of it. At Cornwall College we like to encourage students to have as many work-related experiences as possible during their time with us. These experiences enable our students to gain valuable insights into their chosen profession and are paramount in broadening the college experience for our students.”
