BCoT invites students for a taster in Hospitality and Catering

Students spent the day being guided in making their own buffet to enjoy for lunch.

Last term, the Hospitality and Catering department at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) hosted two taster sessions for year 11 students from Bishop Challoner School and year 10 students from Harrow Way School. 

The students spent the day in The Restaurant at BCoT guided by the college’s Hospitality and Catering students, by making their own buffet to enjoy for lunch.

Students were split into groups to each take on a section of the buffet. Some were tasked with making pizzas, superfood salads and a selection of sweet treats.

The level 3 supervisor students demonstrated the making of mocktails and others supervised the art of table arrangement and napkin folding.

Hospitality Lecturer Justin Mundy, Chef Chris Swain and Restaurant Manager Daniel Spittle supervised the day with the help of current level 3 students.

Justin said: “This was a great opportunity to give an insight into a typical day within our department.

It is a great industry to get involved with and has many great career prospects and opportunities.

It also gave an opportunity for our students to supervise and teach as part of their learning and allow the chance for questions about life within BCoT and all the good things it has to offer. 

We hope to develop our links with local schools and support the teachers by visiting them in the future to give demonstrations for a range of year groups.”

The taster sessions contributed to the college students’ course and in turn, was beneficial to both them and the visiting schools.

Since Monday 23 March, classes at BCoT have been taken online to ensure students continue their education during the COVID-19 pandemic, including video cookery lessons led by Chef Mundy. BCoT offers a range of courses in Catering and Hospitality and applications for September 2020 are still open, you can find out more at bcot.ac.uk