French Trip Provides Valuable Experience for Students

A group of students from Sussex Coast College have recently returned home from a two week work experience programme in Northern France, after helping to renovate a chateau.

Budding chefs and carpenters travelled to France back in May to start their two week project. The carpenters were set the task to build a wooden outhouse and lend a hand with joinery tasks, while the chefs were in charge of creating daily menus, sourcing local ingredients, and cooking for the group.

The students worked Monday to Friday and were free to explore the area at the weekend. The catering students worked split shifts, cooking and preparing breakfast and lunch in the morning, and then preparing and cooking dinner in the evening. Their afternoons were spent visiting local markets to find fresh, local produce to include in their daily menu.

The students stayed in a 6 bedroom gîte, near the town of Flers, which was about half an hour way from the chateau in Tinchebray-Bocage. Students cooked and ate together and enjoyed some leisure time, with table tennis and crazy golf to keep them amused.

During the weekends, students had the chance to hold snails at a snail farm, milk goats, tour around a biscuit factory, and visit a Camembert museum. They also visited one of France’s most recognisable landmarks, Le Mont Saint-Michel.

On the last Friday of the trip, the students invited a number of special guests for dinner. They cooked a three course meal, including a terrine, Duck a l’orange, tarte tatin and profiteroles.

It is the second time that students have been to France to assist in the renovation of the chateau, which is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus project, helping to provide students with experience opportunities abroad.

Jeff Jordan, Hospitality and Catering Lecturer said: “The students had a fantastic time in Tinchebray-Bocage. It was great to see them getting fully involved with the experience and having a great time. It was noticeable to see that they got a lot out of the experience, not only practising their cookery and construction skills, but also becoming more independent. The students have really grown in confidence and gained a lot of enthusiasm for their studies, which they can also take into their future careers.”

Check out the rest of the pictures from the trip on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/SCCHCoastRestaurant