Ayrshire College students impress at major Hospitality competitions
Ayrshire College Hospitality and Professional Cookery students have enjoyed success at two major hospitality competitions.
Students took part in Scotland’s leading showcase for food, drink, hospitality, retail and tourism, at the SEC Glasgow in early March. Ayrshire College had a strong presence at ScotHot, with Hospitality students gaining two gold, four silver, seven bronze and three merits at the culinary championships.
Hospitality and Professional Cookery Lecturer, Annemarie Farr said: “Our students were a credit to us and themselves, presenting a positive image of the College and the Hospitality department. A huge well done to all the students who participated in this memorable experience.”
As well as student success, the high calibre of Hospitality teaching staff was also recognised, with three members of the lecturing team, Livia Alexander, Dougal Macpherson and Ainslay Miller also winning awards, with Dougal and Livia achieving Best in Class.
Following this success, the Country Range Student Chef Challenge 2023 came to a thrilling conclusion at the Hotel, Restaurant & Catering Show at Excel in London on 21 March with a trio of talented Professional Cookery students from Ayrshire College claiming third place.
Samantha Stirling, 35 from Fenwick, Iwona Grzesikiewicz, 45 from Barrhead, and Claire Galloway-Dobinson, 37 from Irvine, impressed judges throughout the live final with their flavour-packed menu, high-level cookery techniques and all-round teamwork and organisation.
The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Around the World’, which encouraged the students to research different countries and be inspired by various ingredients, flavours and cooking techniques from across the globe. Mexico was the focus for the starter, Africa for the main, and Australia for the dessert.
The Ayrshire team’s menu included:
Starter - Baked Cajun Sea Bass with Tortilla Leaf, Citrus Cured and Marinated Sea Bass Ceviche, Fermented Black Bean Puree with Mole Sauce, Coral Tuille, Avocado Fries with Feta Cheese.
Main - Herb and Pistachio Crusted Cannon of Lamb, Lamb Faggot with Artichoke Puree and Crisps, Spiced Sweet Potato Fondants with Durban Spiced Coconut Masala Sauce
Dessert - Australian Sunset – White Chocolate Sphere filled with Vanilla Poached Peach, Peach Mousse, Vanilla Ice-cream and fresh Raspberries, with a Honeycomb Tuille, and Molten Raspberry Sauce.
As well as making the podium and receiving a Silver merit from the Craft Guild of Chefs, the Ayrshire team also won Flint & Flame knives.
Samantha Stirling, said: “ It was a lot of hard work and preparation, but it was so much fun to be involved and to get a silver merit badge and the third place overall was a dream come true.”
Annmarie Farr, Hospitality Lecturer at Ayrshire College, said: “I am absolutely delighted for our students. It’s such a prestigious, highly regarded competition so I’m privileged to have been part of their journey and the memories they will have made.”
Graham Caldwell, Country Range Group Marketing Manager and Challenge Organiser, said: “Well done to Ayrshire College team who had to travel a long way to compete and did Scotland proud. The dishes they created were seriously impressive and we expect big things from Samantha, Iwona and Claire in the future. Competitions like the Country Range Student Chef Challenge are vital in demonstrating to students what can be achieved from a career in hospitality, and I think the chefs showed everyone that the future of our culinary industry is in very safe hands.”
For more photos of the competition winners, click here
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