Stoke on Trent College’s Hammersley Restaurant welcomed special guests Angela Mahar, CEO of the Savoy Educational Trust and Dr. Sarah Tunstall, Grants and Trust Administrator for a special event to showcase the college’s cutting-edge facilities available for Hospitality and Catering students. In particular the recently opened Pastry Kitchen, generously funded by the Savoy Educational Trust.
The Trust is an independent, grant giving charitable trust whose aim is the advancement and development of education and learning within the hospitality industry. They provided the funding for the new facilities last year – and learners at the college have spent the last six months honing their skills in a range of specialist areas, such as Pastiallage and Artisan bread making.
During the visit Savoy guests were provided with a campus tour which was led by two of the college’s Catering and Hospitality students and were able to gain insights into the journey of the Hammersley Restaurant which was re-launched less than 12 months ago and is proving a huge success.
Angela Maher, CEO of the Savoy Educational Trust said
“We had a super visit to Stoke on Trent College to see their new pastry kitchen, which was funded by a grant from the Savoy Educational Trust. It was wonderful to meet the students and hear first-hand what a positive impact the new equipment and facilities are having on their learning. Investing in education is such an important part of what the Trust does, and it is great to know that this next generation of talent is benefitting from our support. Thank you to all for making us feel so welcome.”
Guests met with learners, both young people and adults from a range of courses who were able to demonstrate their newly-acquired skills in chocolate delice, bread making, choux pastry and sweet pastry to see first-hand the positive impact the new facilities are having on the development of skills. An abundance of sweet treats were also on offer.
Steve Heaton, Course Leader for Hospitality and Catering said: “It was a great opportunity to be able to demonstrate our learners newly developed skills. These fantastic new facilities are just like those found in the workplace which really helps to prepare learners for future employment in the industry.”
The event concluded with a discussion on future developments and potential opportunities for further collaboration between the two organisations.
Lisa Capper, MBE, Principal and CEO of Stoke on Trent College said: “We are really proud of our fantastic new facilities and would like to thank the Savoy Educational Trust for their support in making this happen. We have enjoyed being able to demonstrate how these new facilities add to our already impressive suite of specialist catering facilities – and demonstrate the positive impact on developing skills. We look forward to growing our partnership with the Trust as we continue to invest in the future of our College and our learners.”