Young chefs from across Plymouth cooked up a storm at a special graduation dinner to celebrate their successful completion of the Junior Chef Academy. Serving a sumptuous buffet to family and friends, the event, held in City College’s PL1 Restaurant, was an opportunity to showcase their culinary flair developed over the nine-week intensive training programme.
The Junior Chef Academy gives 14 to 16 year olds a taste for a career in catering by teaching them how to make a range of delicious sweet and savoury dishes to take home to share with friends and family. Held in the College’s state-of-the-art training kitchens, the would-be Jamie Olivers and Nigella Lawsons learn how to cook with confidence and style in weekly sessions run to fit around school and homework.
“Our young chefs did themselves proud and put on a fantastic graduation banquet for family and friends,” said Jamie McMurrich, City College’s Programme Lead Lecturer for the Junior Chefs Academy. “All the hard work of the last nine weeks really came together – I am very proud of what they have achieved.
“The Junior Chef Academy is a great opportunity for young chefs to develop their cooking skills and to explore their creativity in the kitchen. It whets their appetites for hospitality and catering as a career to pursue and our experienced chefs are always on hand to give lots of advice about working in the industry. Many come back to the Junior Academy over and over again, and a high number of the Junior Chefs return to study with us on full-time courses.”
The Junior Chef Academy is made possible by the support of the Savoy Educational Trust. It is one of a series of academies offered by the College throughout the year to give young students the chance to explore a hobby or interest, as well as an insight into what it is like to study a course full-time. Other junior academies include automotive, construction, digital marketing, and hair and beauty.
For more information about the Junior Academies taking place in 2018, or for those interested in pursuing a career in catering, the College is holding an Open Day on Saturday 28 April, 10.00am to 1.00pm at Kings Road.
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