Students’ gourmet feast for Ladies’ Day!
10/08/2010
Some of the trainee chefs, pictured with Lecturer Mark Russell
Preparing and serving a banquet for a large number of guests is a daunting task for even the most experienced of professional chefs, but nine NVQ catering students based at the College's Crawley campus stepped up to the challenge last month, when they prepared a three course meal for 750 Royal Mail staff, who were guests at the Lingfield Park Racecourse 'Ladies' Day' event on 24 July.
Monica Bance, 18, Erin Ferrier, 20, Ryan Banton, 17, and Ludovic Beguinot, 19, all from Crawley, joined fellow students Donna Burden, 49, from East Grinstead, Sarah Hutton, 41, from Copthorne, Daemon Hunt, 20, from Cowfold, Maxine Bellben, 16, from Horley, and Craig Hilton, 18, from Billingshurst to cook and prepare the menu under the supervision of Hospitality Lecturer, experienced banqueting chef, and Lingfield Park employee, Mark Russell.
Preparation for the event began on Thursday and Friday, where the chefs spent two full days cooking and packing the food in the production kitchen. It wasn't until the morning of the event that they were able to transport the dishes to the kitchen inside the marquee, and work on the presentation of the finished product, where the particularly warm weather meant that several of the chefs spent much of Saturday morning working inside one of the walk-in refrigerators on the premises, to avoid dishes being ruined by the heat!
The meal was served by a team of 60 waiting staff, some of whom were also recruited from the Faculty of Service Industries at the College, and the 750 diners were served all three courses within 45 minutes. Guests dined on a starter of continental breads with marinated olives, followed by a choice of roast sirloin of beef with a juniper and horseradish crust, or poached delice of salmon, accompanied by a selection of salads and baby new potatoes. For desert, they enjoyed a trio of 'shot-glass desserts' which included a miniature sherry trifle, banoffe pie, and passion fruit mousse.
Although the student chefs were paid for their time, they also gained valuable professional experience, including working to tight deadlines, working to a consistently high standard, working in differing surroundings, and working as a team, all of which will be essential in their future careers. After the event, Chef Russell, who was previously Head Chef at Epsom Downs Racecourse, and has been involved in catering for large corporate events for the past twenty years, commented "It was a great experience for everyone involved. For the students to get the opportunity work in a highly pressurised environment, and to meet the high standards expected of them from Lingfield Park and The Royal Mail, is really going to stand them in good stead for their future careers. The feedback from Neill Whiting, Executive Head Chef at Lingfield Park was also very good. He was impressed with the professionalism of all the students and looks forward to developing the link between Arena Leisure and Central Sussex College in future."
