Trio serve up a success at challenge

Three local catering students served up success at the Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge.
A team of talented Hospitality and Catering students from South Eastern Regional College won the prestigious Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge. Team members Jamie Rea, Euan Sibbald and Andrew Cassling recently travelled to Southern Regional College to participate in the high profile live cook-off event.A team of talented Hospitality and Catering students from South Eastern Regional College won the prestigious Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge. Team members Jamie Rea, Euan Sibbald and Andrew Cassling recently travelled to Southern Regional College to participate in the high profile live cook-off event.
A team of talented Hospitality and Catering students from South Eastern Regional College won the prestigious Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge. Team members Jamie Rea, Euan Sibbald and Andrew Cassling recently travelled to Southern Regional College to participate in the high profile live cook-off event.

Team members Jamie Rea, Euan Sibbald and Andrew Cassling travelled to Southern Regional College to participate in the high profile live cook-off event.

The team will progress to the live competition final, held as part of Hotel Olympia 2014 on April 28 where they will have the chance to win a once in a lifetime five-day work experience placement, along with an invitation to join and assist the Craft Guild of Chefs culinary team at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

The Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge is a leading culinary competition and is open to teams of full-time hospitality or catering college students. The challenge provides an opportunity for student chefs to showcase their talents. The competition is targeted at teams of three and is an opportunity for them to develop ‘real life’ catering skills such as accurate costing, as well as providing a platform to showcase their culinary skills.

The theme of this year’s competition was ‘back to basics’ with teams having to present a menu that embraces the modern trend for clean, well-proportioned and precisely executed cuisine. Under the watchful eye of the judges students had to demonstrate great technique and were marked on all aspects of food preparation including flavours and textures, hygiene, use of local produce and presentation.

SERC tutor and team mentor Ruth Doherty explains: “The Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge is a great opportunity for student’s to showcase their skills developed while studying at SERC and their ability to work in the unique, pressurised environment of a professional kitchen. This year we were up against some high calibre students so to win is an incredible achievement.

“SERC are committed to offering students the opportunity to develop new skills that will be essential when they enter the world of work. I would particularly like to thank Jim Mulholland from the Ballyrobin Country Lodge Hotel for his help and support throughout the competition and providing work placements to enrich student learning.”

SERC provides a range of full and part-time hospitality courses designed to give students’ the edge’.