Experts serve up a treat for students

Experts from the food industry visited Tameside College’s hospitality and catering department to treat students to patisserie and sommelier workshops as part of a ‘mini-industry day’.

Reece Hunt, a junior chocolate master’s finalist and Ian Howard, general manager at the Hatton Arms Warrington, delivered sessions to students to help them complete their technical qualifications.

Reece, who works as a patisserie innovation technologist for Bright Blue Foods Ltd, showed students the art of dessert making, including: coffee and hazelnut entrement, raspberry, pistachio and rosewater parfait and chocolate and blood orange torte.. He was one of five young professionals in the UK who made it to the finals of the junior chocolate masters’ competition which pits the nation’s best young talent against one another.

Ian, as a member of the L’Academie du Champagne or ‘Champagne Academy’, delved into the work of professional sommeliers, knowledge of wines and pairing it with chocolate desserts.

Stephen Jepson-Swallow, hospitality and catering teacher at Tameside College, said:

“The idea behind the industry day was to help students develop their skills in a practical way, in important specialisms in the industry. Both Reece and Ian are experts in what they do and pairing them together was a great way to show the students what can be achieved if they work hard enough.”

To find out more about hospitality and catering courses at Tameside College, call 0161 908 6600.