Hospitality and Food student, Ruaridh, has qualified for a national catering competition and achieved a medal placing for his Italian-themed menu.
Ruaridh, known as Ru, was awarded a Bronze medal at the competition in Manchester. The annual World Skills Foundation competitions are the opportunity for students to showcase skills in a range of vocational subjects.
Ru made it through qualification rounds to join the catering skills competition finals. The first round was an online test, he then made it through to the national qualifiers, where he cooked in the college鈥檚 commercial kitchen while being watched by judges over Microsoft Teams. His skills impressed the panel enough to qualify for the national finals in Manchester on 22 November.
Ru was accompanied to the competition in Manchester by Hospitality & Food pathway lead David Thompson-Pearce and teacher George Taylor.
Competitors were required to prepare and present two portions of two separate brunch dishes with a European theme. Ru opted for an Italian menu to reflect his love of the country, and focused on dishes suitable for vegetarians.
His dishes were:
Italian Brunch Bruschetta: Toasted sourdough, goat鈥檚 cheese, scrambled egg, sundried tomatoes, basil, rocket, olive oil, Balsamic vinegar
Vegetarian Antipasti Skewers: Cherry tomatoes, pesto marinated mozzarella, Ricotta and spinach tortellini, basil, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic and chilli olives, rocket, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan shavings.
The competition showcased the abilities of over 400 of the UK鈥檚 most talented apprentices and students across more than 40 disciplines.
Ru, who is from London, said: 鈥淚t was a long but brilliant day. I chose my menu because I love Italy and the food there. I enjoy visiting Italy on holiday with my family and have learnt to speak some Italian!鈥�
David Thompson-Pearce said: 鈥淭he finals saw more than 400 young people from across the UK compete in a series of vocational challenges to be named the best in the UK.
鈥淲e鈥檙e so proud of Ru. To qualify for the World Skills UK National finals was a fantastic achievement, and then to come away with a medal was outstanding.
鈥淗e demonstrated his menu planning and catering skills, remaining calm and collected in a high pressure competition environment. He represented mv天美mv天美 and our Hospitality and Food department brilliantly, and we are all incredibly proud of him.鈥�
Find out more about our vocational pathways.
