Learning from the Best
On Tuesday 29th March, hospitality students from Highbury College, Eastleigh College and Basingstoke College of Technology had the opportunity to work with some of Hampshire’s top chefs. The students assisted on the demonstration kitchen installed at South Lawn Hotel as part of Milford on Sea Food Week.
The event was co-ordinated by local food group Hampshire Fare and involved respected local chefs Andy MacKenzie from Lainston House Hotel, Dan Gover from The Pig Hotel and Adam Harty from Basingstoke College of Technology. Each chef cooked a dish using locally sourced ingredients and the students worked in pairs to help prepare the ingredients and plate the dishes up.
Before the event several of the students admitted to feeling quite nervous about performing in front of an audience. However the chefs put the students at ease and everyone worked excellently as a team.
Student Jack Bryant from Eastleigh College worked alongside Andy MacKenzie assisting him in the preparation of a locally sourced crab dish. Jack commented: “The whole experience opened my eyes to the use of local produce in my cooking and it helped me to develop confidence in how to cook and demonstrate to the public. I came away from the day understanding more about how using locally sourced ingredients is fundamental to helping local businesses grow. Thank you to Hampshire Fare for giving us this fantastic opportunity.”
Tracy Nash from Hampshire Fare commented on the event: “We wanted to use today as a way to bring together experienced chefs and aspiring chefs in a professional environment. We are lucky to work with chefs who are passionate about the local ingredients available to them and we wanted the next generation to see this in action. Many of these students haven’t done anything like this before and they have really had to overcome some nerves to get up on that demo kitchen. I am really proud of the students and feel honoured to have met them on their journey to becoming professionals.”
The event also incorporated an artisan market with Cold Pressed Oil, Flack Manor Brewery, Hattingley Valley, Jenkyn Place, A Basing Bakes, Cupcakes mmm Cookies and other Hampshire Fare members.
Milford on Sea Food Week is running until Sunday 3rd March with events taking place every day and evening for all ages. Visit www.milfordonseafoodweek.org for further information.