Students from the L20 Hotel School at Hugh Baird College have been working with chefs from some of the region’s top hotels and restaurants, adding Michelin starred and AA rosette kitchens to their list of work experience.
The award-winning restaurant at Chester’s Grosvenor Hotel, ‘Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor’, has retained its Michelin star since 1990 and was voted Best Hotel Restaurant at the European Hospitality Awards 2015. Through L20 Hotel School’s links with Executive Chef, Simon Radley, five Level 3 Hospitality and Catering students from L20 Hotel School have been given the opportunity to train in his Michelin starred kitchen. Over a series of visits, the students are being trained by Chef Radley and his team in the traditional ‘corner system’, meaning they each learn a particular section in the kitchen, moving around until they’ve experienced every section.
Curriculum Manager for the L20 division incorporating Hospitality and Catering, Mark Amesbury, said:
“The students absolutely love it and they can’t wait to go back every time. For these young, aspiring chefs, the skills and knowledge they’re gaining with Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor is invaluable. We’re extremely grateful to Simon for his support and are already identifying talented Level 2 learners with a view to offering them the same opportunity in the New Year.”
The amazing experiences for the hospitality and catering students haven’t stopped there…
The Freemasons at Wiswell, under the leadership of chef-proprietor, Steven Smith, boasts a long list of accolades, from being crowned number one in the Waitrose Good Food Guide’s Top 50 Pubs to achieving three rosettes in the AA Awards. L20 Hotel School students were treated to a masterclass and question and answer session with Chef Smith when he took over the L20 Restaurant kitchens recently for a guest chef evening. They then worked under his leadership as part of his brigade creating the dishes for the evening’s menu.
The latest in the students’ list of ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities saw them work alongside Thornton Hall Hotel & Spa’s Executive Chef, Matt Worswick (pictured). As well as representing the North West at the finals of the Great British Menu, Matt was the youngest chef in Scotland to achieve a Michelin Star while at the luxury Glenapp Castle Hotel in Ayrshire.
Hosting November’s guest chef evening at the L20 Restaurant at Hugh Baird College, Chef Worswick and his team found time to hold a question and answer session with the students as well as giving a demonstration in the techniques of working with liquid nitrogen. The students were then set to work in the kitchens helping to prepare for the evening’s elaborate menu.
Matt Worswick, executive chef at the four star Thornton Hall Hotel & Spa in Wirral said:
“It’s a privilege to be able to help young chefs at the start of their career and to give them real life insight into a career in food. The students asked some great questions, particularly in relation to my experiences running a busy hotel food operation and appearing on Great British Menu, and they impressed me with their skills, work ethic and creativity in the kitchen.”
Mark Amesbury added:
“At the L20 Hotel School, our students are exposed to truly unique opportunities to engage with high profile industry leaders, right through from the age of fourteen. Thanks to the support of chefs such as Simon Radley, Steven Smith and Matt Worswick, we are able to prepare students for their careers and we’re looking forward to welcoming more big named chefs – Mark Greenaway, Marc Verite, Steven Burgess and Ernst van Zyl to name but a few, throughout the coming year.”
Guests and aspiring young chefs should also look out for a big announcement coming early next year when we hope to bring another young local star to the L20 restaurant…
The L20 Hotel School forms part of one of the UK’s first Hospitality and Visitor Economy Career Colleges for 14-19 year olds, in partnership with the Career College Trust. The facility offers students both academic and practical preparation for the world of work within the Hospitality and Visitor Economy industries, both areas of huge employment growth in the Liverpool City Region.
If you are interested in a career in hospitality and catering, find out more about the L20 Hotel School courses at www.l20hotelschool.co.uk/training or telephone 0151 353 4444 or visit the L20 Restaurant Facebook page to see photos and footage of the students and chefs at work.