South Yorkshire catering students serve royal feast for the Queen's 90th birthday

Six Barnsley College Catering students have recently spent the week at Windsor cooking for the Queen, her family, friends and acquaintances during the annual Royal Horse Show.

Preparing over 650 meals each day, the students and their tutors supported lead chefs in cooking and serving classic and modern cuisine to both the royal restaurant and members’ restaurant which consisted of VIPs and exclusive guests.

The prestigious event also marked the Queen’s 90th birthday where royalty from around the world were also invited.

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Catering course leader, Martyn Hollingsworth, together with tutors Angela McGinley and James Key expressed how extremely proud of the students they were for being such fine ambassadors of the college and coping well under pressure.

Martyn said: “Catering for such a high-profile event was a challenge for myself and my colleagues, who are highly qualified and experienced, so for our students to take on the challenge and do such a wonderful job is extraordinary. They worked to professional standards throughout the week and were praised by industry experts for their diligence and remarkable work ethic.”

Level 3 Catering student, Olivia Ely, said: “The week we spent at Windsor was a whirlwind. I really enjoyed being part of such a high-profile event and working alongside industry professionals. As a team we worked really well under pressure and have taken home a lot of skills that we can use in the future. Thanks to the cooking techniques we have learnt during our courses at college, we already had the expertise required to support the chefs effectively and efficiently.”

The students made such an impression with the catering company ‘Payne and Gunter’ that they have all been offered jobs on completion of their courses and, along with their tutors, have been invited to work the next royal event on the calendar which is yet to be confirmed.

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The college’s Open Kitchen restaurant will be hosting its own prestigious event on June 9 to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday where learners will be replicating one of the menus that they cooked for the Queen. The five-course dinner will be £17.95 per head and will be served from 6.30pm with limited places available. Please contact The Open Kitchen on 01226 216 365 or email [email protected] to secure your table.

For more information on Barnsley College’s Catering and Hospitality courses call 01226 216 123, email [email protected] or visit www.barnsley.ac.uk