St Helens College is celebrating the fantastic success of skilled Catering students, Lucas and Filip, who achieved a silver medal at the Inter Colleges Culinary Skills Competition at Liverpool City College, for their impressive dishes and culinary skill.
The talented duo pitted their skills against six other College’s from across Merseyside, creating a fish starter, consisting of Fillet of plaice in Dulger sauce and a chicken main, Ballontine of chicken.
Filip, studying the level 2 Diploma in Professional Cookery, said, “It was a great feeling being put forward for the Inter College’s Competition. I loved every minute of it - it was such an amazing opportunity to be able to cook for industry experts, who have worked for the likes of Marco Pierre White!”
During the competition, judges critiqued the students’ during the preparation stage of their dishes, taking into account their preparation skills, filleting, tunnel boning, skinning, team work skills, health and safety awareness, and finally, the overall presentation of their dishes including taste.
Level 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery student, Lucas, who is employed with local restaurant, champagne and piano bar, The Dean, as a Commis Chef, commented, “I am still amazed by the whole experience! I am so proud to have won second place, especially after coming up against some tough competition.”
He added, “Being a part of the competition has helped me in a lot of ways - it has certainly strengthened my time management skills, after having just 90 minutes to prepare a dish and it really opened my eyes to everything that goes into the process!”
The pair were credited by judges for the excellent standard of their completed dish, which ultimately secured them their victory, with a silver medal and certificate each.
Proud Catering Tutor, Craig McIntosh, said, “We are so proud of Lucas and Filip for the tremendous dedication and passion they’ve shown running up to and throughout the Inter College Competition.”
He added, “For the past few weeks they’ve spent time fine tuning their dishes and practicing their best culinary techniques, which has certainly paid off!”
Interested in a career in Catering and Hospitality? Take a look at our range of courses at sthelens.ac.uk/catering.
