Barnsley College students serve up royal feast

Preparing hundreds of meals each day, the students and their tutors supported lead chefs in cooking and serving classic and modern cuisine to both the royal restaurant and members’ restaurant, which hosted VIPs and exclusive guests.

Ellie Goodlad, 18, of Wath-upon-Dearne, said: “Serving food knowing it was going to the Queen and members of the Royal family was really exciting and something that I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of. It has been amazing, and all the long hard hours have been worth it!”

Oliver Barrett, 19, of Shiregreen, added: “My favourite part of the event was cooking a three course meal for the boxes (VIPs). I learnt many skills including more alternative ways to plate-up food. It was very challenging because you have to get all the meals out in a certain amount of time but at the same time, it was enjoyable.”

Catering course leader, Martyn Hollingsworth, together with tutor James Key expressed how extremely proud of the students they were for being such fine ambassadors of the College and coping well under pressure.

Martyn said: “Catering for such a high-profile event was a challenge for myself and my colleague, who are highly qualified and experienced, so for our students to take on the challenge and do such a wonderful job is extraordinary. Collectively we worked over 60 hours in five days and as tough as the days were, the students were amazing. Nothing was too much of an ask and everyone showed a real can do attitude.”