Students take over award winning restaurant to promote the visitor economy

The next generation of hospitality superheroes took over an award winning restaurant to help shine a light on tourism and Ipswich.

The event that took place and saw 50 attendees receive afternoon tea at the Salthouse Harbour Hotel.

The invited guests were given the chance to network and see how they can best work together to promote hospitality and tourism in this region.

The food was prepared by Suffolk New College student chefs and it was served by hospitality learners who all receive training at the Suffolk Centre for Culinary Arts based at Chefs’ Whites restaurant in Ipswich.

They were all supported by Luke Bailey, the head chef of the double AA rosette winning eatery at the Salthouse Harbour Hotel.

The occasion was funded by the Visitor Economy Network Initiative (VENI), a partnership project that brings educators, SMEs, the public sector and social enterprises closer together to help promote the hospitality sector and get the message out to others that East Anglia is a tourism hotspot.   VENI is funded by the European Social Fund.

Emma Taylor is the Director for Strategic Projects at Suffolk New College and was one of the founders of the VENI project. Emma said:

“The event brought the local community together to help champion the visitor economy as a career path. We want people to realise that there are some fantastic careers to be had in hospitality, but also in the culture and leisure industries too. It’s all about uniting to celebrate the strengths of our visitor economy here in East Anglia.”

Luke Bailey, Head Chef of the Salthouse Harbour Hotel said:

“We are always keen to promote this region to others and in addition to this the event was an opportunity for us to work with some talented young people and give them a glimpse of what it’s like to work in industry.                                                                                                                     

“We have a longstanding and successful relationship with Suffolk New College and long may that continue. The food and service they produced was top quality and I’m very proud of them.

“The fact that about 60% of our (restaurant) staff started out at Suffolk New College tells you all you need to know about how highly we value our working relationship together.”

Lola Robinson, 18, from Ipswich is on a level three patisserie course at the College. Lola said:

“It was a chance to meet and network with local chefs and it’s been a very helpful experience.”

Brandon Farrow, 16, from Ipswich is on a level two hospitality services programme at the College. Brandon said:

“It went very smoothly. I think this experience will give me the confidence to explore new adventures. This is definitely somewhere I would like to work in the future.”

Director for the Suffolk Centre for Culinary Arts at Suffolk New College Mike Mulvihill said:

“We are proud to do our bit to promote Suffolk and East Anglia. It’s an amazing place to live and work. We are equally proud of our relationship with the Salthouse Harbour Hotel and we would like to thank them for their ongoing support.”