Student shows more than a pinch of skill in catering competition

Lauren Salt (second left) and her Hopwood Hall team at the ACF Catering Competition

A Hopwood Hall College catering student won first prize at the North West Heat of the 2018 ACF Catering Competition held Llandrillo college, Wales.

Lauren Salt won the ‘Restaurant 4 Skills competition’ category after beating seven other colleges.

Lauren and her classmates, Beverly Smith, Robert Green, Molly Coupe and Nicole Cox, alsp entered as a team  but just missed out on qualification for the finals,

The students were tasked with producing six plates per course, the starter had to be either plaice or herring, the intermediate had to be salmon and the main course had to be monkfish or hake.

How the fish was cooked and presented was up to the students as well as how they garnished the dishes.

Lauren spoke of her surprise at taking home a first place: “I was really happy to have won my own category, even though I was a bit gutted not to win as a team as I thought we did really well.

“The competition was tough, but our tutors prepared us well and gave us a lot of support. We work at the College’s Riverside Restaurant as part of our studies so we have had lots of good practice. After winning, it has felt great to know I have made my family and tutors proud.

“I didn’t think I would win as there were a few things I was thinking I could have done better, but it’s really nice to have someone say I was the best at something. I just hope next year we can all win as a team.”