Bakery and Hospitality students from Fife College have been recognised for their talents, hard work and commitment at a fabulous dinner held to mark St Andrew’s Day and to celebrate Scottish Food and Drink.
The Savour St Andrew’s Bursary Awards, were presented to HNC Patisserie and HNC Hospitality students at the end of the annual St Andrew’s Day Dinner, held on Thursday 28 November, at the prestigious Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa in St Andrews. HND Professional Cookery students from SRUC Elmwood Campus, were also presented with bursary awards on the night.
The annual dinner was organised by Savour St Andrews, who in association with the world famous hotel, bring together supporting businesses from in and around the town for a fabulous collaboration between the hospitality industry, producers from across the country, and the further education sector in Fife.
On the night, the chefs and hotel staff were assisted in the kitchen and front of house by student teams led by chef lecturer Barry Scott from Fife College and Wullie Balfour from SRUC Elmwood Campus. The 11 Fife College students worked hard before and during the event, preparing delicious petit-fours, one of the highlights of the dinner.
As well as bursary awards, the Fife College students also benefitted from an inspiring masterclass event on the run up to the dinner by Geoffrey Smeddle, Michelin Star Chef from the Peat Inn. Geoffrey visited the Fife College team at the College’s Kirkcaldy Campus to guide their preparation work to create delicious petit-fours for the dinner.
Bryan McCabe-Bell, Director of Business, Enterprise and Tourism at Fife College is grateful for the support from Savour St Andrews:
“The partnership we have with Savour St Andrews gives our students fantastic opportunities, including working with some of Scotland’s most talented and prestigious chefs and hotel staff in a world class venue. Not only do opportunities such as these help to improve our students’ skills and confidence it also opens up a new world of possibilities giving them real experience at the top end of the industry.
“Being awarded a Savour St Andrew’s Bursary at the end of the dinner was the icing on the cake for our students – we are very grateful to Savour St Andrew’s for their ongoing generous support.”
Lyn Gold from the Adam Smith Foundation, which looks after the scholarship programme at Fife College said, “We are delighted to receive this bursary award from Savour St Andrew’s which recognises our students’ achievement and enables them to benefit from real life experience in the Scottish Hospitality sector. We look forward to being involved in similar opportunities in the near future.”
The bursary will be used by the students to cover expenses such as travel and accommodation while on placement and will be put towards external trips and visits relating to their course.
Savour St Andrews is the successor to the St Andrews Food and Drink Festival, which started in 2012 aimed at organising events around St Andrew’s Day.
It is now a stand-alone project co-ordinated by Viv Collie and driven by a small and dedicated team, including Ian MacDonald, formerly executive chef, and now the body’s food and beverage manager, and Martin Hollis, executive head chef at the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa.
Said Viv: “Our event offers a wonderful opportunity for the students to gain practical experience and increase their confidence.
“The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa staff, along with the participating chefs and businesses, are always delighted to encourage the next generation of people entering the hospitality industry.”
Applications are open now for a range of scholarships at Fife College - to find out more, click here!
