MK College students take over Michelin recommended restaurant

Fourteen catering and hospitality students from MK College took over fine dining restaurant Paris House on the Woburn Estate last Wednesday evening.

Under the supervision of Executive Chef and Owner Phil Fanning, the students prepared and served a unique seven-course menu that delighted College partners and proud parents. The menu was created by the student chefs some weeks prior to the evening and included savoury dishes such as pickled mackerel with buttermilk snow, cucumber and herb oil and delicious petits fours – red peppercorn and thyme meringue.

Maria Bowness, Head of School for Hospitality and Events, said, “We are immensely proud of our students and very grateful to Phil Fanning at Paris House for giving them this invaluable opportunity to apply and develop their skills in such a fantastic setting.”

Paris House is a Michelin recommended fine dining tasting menu restaurant set in 22 acres of deer park on the Woburn Estate. It offers a truly unique menu in a unique setting. MK College students pulled out all the stops to deliver a dining experience to impress Executive Chef Phil who gained a Michelin Star aged just 29.

“I really enjoyed working with the students and I was extremely impressed by their creativity, dedication and how they all pulled together to deliver such a professional experience. They are a very talented group who I’m sure have very bright futures ahead of them”, said Phil Fanning, Executive Chef and Owner, Paris House.

Level 3 Professional Cook Student, Talia Barrington, prepared the third course; Watercress & Morels. She said “The Paris House Takeover was such a great experience. At the College we get to take part in lots of different initiatives but this was the best yet. To cook alongside and learn from someone as inspiring as Chef Fanning is something I will never forget and only makes me more determined to succeed in becoming a chef myself.”

The takeover was sponsored by Bedford based family businesses GCH Fishmongers and AB Fruits; both of whom donated the finest ingredients; enabling the students to donate profits of £1,000 from the evening to their two chosen charities: Willen Hospice, a local hospice providing specialist care to individuals with life limiting illnesses, and BloodWise, a blood cancer charity.