NKC cooked up a storm last week at “The Ashes Cooking Challenge”. A competition against MidKent College and held at the Gravesend campus. It was a cook off between three students from North Kent College and three students from MidKent College.
Professional Level 3 Cookery students cooked a variety of dishes which were then critiqued by two judges from local businesses based in Gravesend, Brasserie 32 and The Clarendon Royal Hotel who both have chef backgrounds and hold a vast knowledge in cooking.
The competition standards were set extremely high and both teams created some exceptional dishes competing for the coveted Ashes title and plaque. Both teams were very professional throughout the highly pressurised challenge and cooked up three courses with two portions of each having to be created in a just a two-hour window.
Setting up “The Ashes” catering competition built great relationships between North Kent and Mid Kent catering areas. It has allowed both establishments to share best practice and set high standards for their students. It has allowed the students to exchange their skills through the complexity of their creations and learn life skills such as team sprit with both teams showing incredible sportsmanship throughout.
Judge Andrew, from the Brasserie 32 restaurant commented, ‘I was extremely impressed in the high standard of food. Students cooked to an exceptional standard both presentation and taste wise and their passion shone through in a highly pressurised situation working within a short time frame’.
Executive Head Chef at the Clarendon Royal Hotel also commented, ‘it was incredible to see how students pushed themselves beyond their comfort zones and I myself thoroughly enjoyed the process, both colleges were commendable in their efforts and we must bear in mind their age and how well they took our harsh yet constructive criticism!’
This practical exercise prepares learners for the world of work and it was great having industry professionals giving student’s tips and advice that further prepares them for working environments.
North Kent College Catering lecturer Keith Campbell said, ‘I’m very proud of my students who gave up their own time to practice their dishes. The whole experience has been worthwhile and I believe my students got a lot out of the competition from extending their knowledge and skills to a new level. The feedback from our professional judges helped the students see and understand the complexity of competition work’, he added “Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn”. However, there could only be one winner and MidKent took “The Ashes”.
NKC Level 2 professional cookery student, Callum Burman said of the event, ‘I was excited about the event, we feel it went pretty smoothly and it was a great learning curve and experience as this was our first ever competition. We hope to win it next time!’
Both Colleges will look forward to the next competition in 2017 where students’ who participated in the challenge will have progressed onto Level 3.