College catering success at WorldSkills competition
Three budding waiters last month won a host of medals at the WorldSkills UK competition, designed to reward outstanding talent in a range of vocational areas.
Wojciceh Pastor, 19 competed in the Advanced Food Service class, and Leighanne Harrison, 18 and Zoe Cook, 16 both competed in the Intermediate class at the competition in Bournemouth. The students all won a medal in each category they entered – Cocktails & Coffee, Napkin Folding and Table Lay-up. Wojciech also entered an additional category, Flambé.
Wojciceh entered the competition last year, winning a silver medal overall in the Intermediate class – this year he won a bronze in the Advanced class. He said ‘It was very nerve wracking, but lots of fun at the same time. I found the flambé the most challenging as you’ve got to get the mix of the seasoning just right. WorldSkills invited me to apply to be in the WorldSkills team for London 2011, which was a great honour in itself. I’m still waiting to hear if I’ve made it – if I do it’ll mean I get to represent the UK in the skills equivalent of the Olympics and compete at an international level – so fingers crossed.’
Curriculum Manager for Catering at the College, Kath Russell, said, ‘Wojcech, Leanne and Zoe are a fantastic representation of the level of skill and talent demonstrated by all our Catering students at the College. They rose to the challenge of the competition superbly and I’m delighted they’ve received the recognition they thoroughly deserve.’