Our blog

Earlier this week, Business Development Chefs Robin Dudley & Jonathan Harvey-Barnes and Business Development Manager, Gary Kilminster were invited to the City of Bristol College as part of their "Guest Chef" series.

The trio worked alongside 12 level 2 and level 3 students to create a 4 course meal from a menu devised by Robin.  

The menu required a variety of skills from pasta making to turning vegetables, using an array of Essential Cuisine products as base ingredients. The students created over 60 covers in just 5 hours!

Business Development Chef Jonathan Harvey-Barnes commented "I was immensely impressed with the students can-do attitude and chef skills shown on the day. The welcome we received from the whole college team was amazing too! Thank you so much for inviting our team".

We caught up with College Lecturer, Ryan Fernandes to find out his thoughts on the evening and his plans for 2023.

Why do you host "guest chef" evenings?

The huge support that we receive from employers like yourselves helps us grow the talents of the industry by giving students the brilliant insight of the industry that in turn helps them to cement their careers while they are in college.

How do you think the students respond to these experiences? And how does that help develop them as chefs?

The students love the experience they get from these employer engagement events and are very happy that they have these types of opportunities to meet professionals and hear their stories and journey in the industry. These events also teach them the latest and new skills that they can learn and use when they go for job interviews.

2022 has been a busy year for you and the college, what’s next for 2023?

The learning journey continues as we strive to deliver the best teaching outcomes that meet the needs of our learners and the same will continue in 2023.

How important are working relationships between industry and colleges?

This is the key and very essential part of the curriculum for us as the relations with the industry professionals helps us shape and prepare students to the changing needs and demands of the industry.

What was your overall impression from the Essential Cuisine kitchen takeover?

It has been amazing. EC takeover is one of the best as the students not only get to learn new methods / techniques of cooking but also get a good understanding of how to work smartly using EC products.

Thank you again for inviting our team. 

If you are interested in our team hosting a demonstration in your school, college or university, simply get in touch - [email protected]