It’s the end of an era for our Level 3 Hospitality and Catering students, who recently marked the end of their studies with a celebratory showcase dinner. But there was no time to relax for the students – tasked with designing the menu and creating the table arrangements, it was all hands on deck for one last time.
Attendees included the students’ parents and local employers, who were eager to see how much the students had learnt while at the College. They were served an extensive menu, with courses including homemade tomato focaccia, mackerel with salsa and crème fraiche, and cranberry fudge with peach snap truffles.
Andrew Hawkins worked in the kitchens, planning the menu, costing supplies and making arrangements for allergies. He was pleased with how it worked out on the night, “It went spectacularly, we joined together as a team and it worked really well. The lamb dish went down the best; we had lots of compliments on the presentation. Areas of improvement would be to improve our timing, and have more patience.”
After college, Andrew is going to work at the Chesil Rectory before eventually moving to work in London. Commenting on his time at Eastleigh College, he said, “It has honestly been one of the greatest times of my life. I’ve loved Eastleigh College, the lecturers are great.”
Philip Byles was Bar Manager for the evening, which involved making the welcome drinks and dessert cocktails.
Philip said, “It went really well, much better than expected. We had a gin and elderflower Collins as the welcome drink, and a cappuccino cocktail for dessert.”
Philip agreed that, if they were to run the event again, they would seek to improve their timings, “We need to make sure that all the drinks are served before the mains come out.”
Philip will be working full-time at the Holiday Inn when he finishes college, and enjoyed his time at Eastleigh College, “On a scale of one to ten, it’s more than ten! It has been really enjoyable, especially the trips and visits to hotels.”
From everyone at Eastleigh College, we wish the students the best of luck with their future endeavours, and we hope to hear of their future successes!
