News

January 2010

Burns' Night At La Sallian

Catering and Hospitality students at the De La Salle Centre provided a special Haggis supper last week, as people throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK were celebrating Burns' Night.

Members of the public, along with staff from the college, sat down to a special evening supper of the traditional Haggis with neeps (mashed swede) and tatties (mashed potato) at what was a very successful event.

A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, sometimes also known as Robert Burns Day, although they may in principle be held at any time of the year.

Leeds Metropolitan University Visits La Sallian

Level 3 Hospitality and Catering students at the De La Salle Centre, looking at future careers in the hospitality industry, were treated to a special visit from lecturers at Leeds Metropolitan University on Monday 25th January.

Peter Cox and Sofia Rebelo, both lecturers in Hospitality & Retailing at the university, visited the La Sallian training restaurant at De La Salle to speak to students about the options available to them.

One such option is the Hospitality Business Management - Accelerated Degree, which offers students the chance to study a full degree in their subject in just two years, both saving them money and giving them the opportunity to access their chosen career more quickly.

November 2009

La Sallian Students Cater For Charity Event

On Wednesday 18th Novemeber, the Manchester group from Coeliac UK chose to have their dinner together at La Sallian restaurant, at the De La Salle Centre.

Coeliac UK is the leading charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). Coeliac disease and DH are dietry conditions, where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. The mission of the charity is to improve the lives of people with coeliac disease through support, campaigning and research.

This was a special occasion for the 2nd year students on Catering and Hospitality courses, due to the special dietry requirements of the group but they did an excellent job preparing a delicious three course gluten free meal for 35.

The students prepared gluten free bread, pastry and puddings, which made the meal a real treat for Coeliacs and a member of the group, Sheila Cockram, commented "It really was a remarkable meal, the students were excellent and I think I speak on behalf of everybody that it was an extremely enjoyable night."

October 2009

College Caters For Conservative Conference

Six students studying Hospitality and Catering at the De La Salle Centre were recently given privileged invites to join the official catering team at the Conservative Party Conference, held at Manchester Central last month.

The students spent the week in the official kitchens of the conference, as well as practising their service skills for all party delegates. Iain Lindley, Conservative councillor for Worsley and Eccles South, spotted the students at work and managed to get this quick photo of them.

The students had a great time at the conference and gained a lot of important work experience during the week.

Pictured with Councillor Lindley are (left to right) Alison Parsons, Hannah Fletcher, Lewis Potts, Ainsley Prince and Jacob Moss.

Catering Students Win Placements At Top UK Restaurants

Second year students on Catering and Hospitality courses at Salford City College, Pendleton Centre will engage in unique experiences this year when they take-up work experience placements at leading restaurants across the UK. From Salford to the south coast of England, the students will be working for the likes of celebrity chefs Rick Stein, Gary Rhodes, Marco Pierre White and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

As part of their NVQ2 in Catering and Hospitality, the 33 students, all from Salford and the surrounding area, are required to undertake 2-4 weeks of work experience and where better to practice their vocation than at the UK’s highest-class restaurants.

From Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Cornwall and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage in Dorset, to Claridges Hotel in London and Nigel Haworth’s Northcote Manor near Blackburn, the budding chefs and waiters will be sent across the country to sample the best in British catering and service and get involved in all sides of the industry. As well as honing their skills in the kitchens and as front-of-house staff, some of the students will be going back to basics. The team at River Cottage (well known for its Channel 4 television series) have promised to show the students what life is like on the farm too, picking their own vegetables and even with a trip to the slaughter house!

Lee Allsup, Curriculum Leader at the Pendleton Centre, said "These are once in a lifetime opportunities for our students and we are very pleased to have been able to secure such prestigious placements for them."

Marc McCrone, Work Placement Co-ordinator for the students, said "There is no better way to raise the aspirations of our students than to let them see the best in the industry at work. A fantastic example of this in practice is Jordan Foster, a past student from Farnworth who, after a placement in Mitch Tonks’ restaurant in Dartmouth, is now already earning £18,000 at the age of 19, doing what he loves best.

"I look forward to visiting the students in their placements and seeing how well they are doing."

May 2009

Pendleton College student, Rachel Kennedy, competed against the cream of the North West's gastronomic talent to win silver medal in the Association Culinaire Francaise (ACF) North West Commis Pastry Chef of the Year Competition.

Rachel (17), from Bolton, won second place in the competition held at Manchester College with her assiette of desserts. She impressed judges with her presentation, time management as well as the delicious taste of her food.

Rachel is in her second year of study at Pendleton and is currently completing her NVQ Level 2 in Food Preparation and Cooking. She also recently gained employment at Sam’s Chop House in Manchester.

Rachel said, “I really enjoyed competing in the competition again this year. It was great to move up to second place after getting the bronze medal last year.”
 

April 2009

Two students have gained a placement in a hotel in Amsterdam and two more students will possibly be going on work placement in Spain in the Summer.

Two more of our catering students enjoyed a special work placement at Mitch Tonks' famous Seahorse Restaurant in Devon.

Other students went to Rick Steins' restaurant in Cornwall, Nigel Howarth's Northcote Manor and Harvey Nichols in Manchester with Alison Seagrave

As a result of the work placement scheme, two students have been offered full-time employment when they finish their course in June, at Harvey Nichols and Mitch Tonk’s Seahorse Restaurant.