Students cater for safari park Christmas party

Birmingham Metropolitan College Hospitality & Culinary Arts students studying Food and Beverage and Professional Cookery at The Academy in Kidderminster showed that their course has served up all the right ingredients when they put their skills to the test for the Staff Christmas Party at the West Midland Safari Park recently.

Working alongside West Midland Safari Park catering staff, students were involved in creating the menus as well as preparing and serving food and cocktails on the evening for 250 staff and their families.

Jane Smith, Head of Campus at The Academy at Kidderminster, said: "Our students have shown off their skills at the West Midland Safari Park Christmas Party for the past three years and it’s a great way for them to put what they've learned into practice.  It's also a valuable experience for them to work in a real kitchen environment, having to prepare and serve dishes on time for a room full of people.  We’re really pleased that the West Midlands Safari Park offers us this opportunity and we’re looking forward to working with them in the future."

Ian Warrington, Food and Beverage Manager at West Midland Safari Park, said:  "We've been working with Birmingham Metropolitan College for the past three years and we’ve been really impressed with the skills and work ethic of the students that get involved with the Christmas Party catering.  It’s really important that students get a taste of what it’s like to work in a kitchen, preparing food for a major event, and this year has again been really successful."

Anyone interested in studying Hospitality & Culinary Arts at The Academy should check out the courses.