South Downs College Fund-raising Banquet

The excitement started to mount late afternoon on Wednesday 25th March, as the last two Michelin starred chefs arrived at South Downs College- Tom Kerridge and Angela Hartnett. Ashley Palmer-Watts, Michael Wignall and Nathan Outlaw were already well into the mise en place for their dishes and the restaurant was being transformed into a Michelin standard dining venue. The occasion?- our Grand Charity Banquet held in aid of Hospitality Action, a charity the catering and hospitality team have supported for many years.

In reality the whole build up to the event started in October last year; Ashley Palmer-Watts agreed to lead a team of fellow Michelin starred chefs in the production of a six course banquet to be served to guests paying for this unique opportunity- to be catered for by 5 chefs with a collection of 9 Michelin stars! Iain Baillie- Chef Lecturer-then made contact with each chef and visited them in their various restaurants to discuss and agree their chosen course and dish. Many ‘phone calls and emails later everything came together and tickets went on sale at £175 each. Within five weeks 80 places had sold out and a waiting list was created for those keen to support the event.

Fine food deserves fine wine and Waitrose, Waterlooville generously agreed to sponsor all the wines for the evening, a wine to compliment each delicious dish. Sponsorship was also secured from Nyetimber for the champagne reception.

Over the following months plans were fine tuned, students were selected to work alongside the guest chefs and everything started to fall into place. Ryan Humphrey, an ex-student kindly returned to lead the team of front of house students in the service of the dishes and the accompanying wines. Ryan left South Downs College in 2012 having gained his NVQ Level 3 in Food and Beverage Supervision, having completed the prestigious ‘Ten out of Ten’ management development programme he now is Deputy Restaurant Manager at 5 star Cliveden House in Berkshire.

On the evening, guests enjoyed a superb banquet featuring delicious dishes such as Anjou squab pastrami –Michael Wignall’s first course, saffron risotto- Angela Hartnett’s course, Sharp’s honey spiced IPA cured salmon-Nathan Outlaw’s offering, Cotswold venison from Tom Kerridge and a caramelised apple tart (c.1730) prepared by Ashley Palmer-Watts. A veritable feast!

Additional sponsorship enabled a golden ticket raffle to take place with prizes such as hotel accommodation from BDL Group, a ‘Bean to cup’ coffee maker from Kenwood and a magnum of Chase Premium vodka. Signed copies of the guest chefs’ cookery books also proved popular prizes with the guests. Each chef had kindly donated a range of dining invitations for auction and with the expertise of our Master of Ceremonies £3,300 was bid!

All of the students who participated in the evening were inspired by the professionalism and exacting standards of the guest chefs. The atmosphere in the kitchen was electric and the friendliness and warmth of the guest chefs made the whole event an evening that will live long in the memories of students, staff and guests. Dan Kent a L3 Professional Cookery student said ‘ To be given the opportunity to work with such highly acclaimed chefs was a great honour and privilege. Working with people that I aspire to work with or at least be at that level in my career, helps me to understand what is possible and to gain insight into their food minds.’

Just under £17,000 was raised for Hospitality Action and handed to Penny Moore, Chief Executive of the charity who was a guest at the event. She praised everyone who had taken part and thanked South Downs catering students and staff for their hard work, enthusiasm and superb customer service.

South Downs College Fund-raising BanquetSouth Downs College Fund-raising BanquetSouth Downs College Fund-raising Banquet

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