Student Chefs put Sustainability on the Menu

Students from Southern Regional College’s (SRC) Professional Chef Traineeship at the Portadown campus were runners-up at the Further Education Project Based Learning (PBL) sector wide finals.  The finals which took place at the end of April, saw students undertake a project to produce gluten free sweet and savoury traybakes at the request of local businesses.

Added to this challenge was the need to repurpose leftover peelings and trims to ensure minimal waste.  Students used apple skins to produce apple cider vinegar, created chutneys from leftover fruit and pickled vegetables from surplus produce. Any peelings that could not be repurposed were composted to provide nutrients for future crops.

While it was a full team effort to devise menus and samples, it was students Jack Rainer, Harry Brown, Gabriel Monteiro and Arayana Nogueira who were tasked with going up in front of the judges, to present their project and provide tasty produce examples.  Narrowly missing out on the top spot in the ‘Up to Level Two’ category, students were commended for their efforts, leaving a positive impression on both judges and audience members alike.

This focus on producing gluten free, sustainable and even diary free produce is at the heart of the Professional Chef curriculum at both the Portadown and Newry Catering courses.  As lecturer Yvonne McCaghey explains;

“Gluten and diary free products are becoming more sought after and we are ensuring our future chefs have the skills and knowledge to meet that demand.  Every day we see customers requesting these items for health, dietary of lifestyle reasons and it’s for this reason we now make all our sauces gluten-free, and prepare vegan and gluten-free desserts, it’s what the public are asking for, and it is important that our students understand how to create dishes that are both inclusive and appealing.

Students have thoroughly enjoyed researching recipes, adapting them to suit dietary requirements and exploring ways to reduce food waste.  Their success at the recent Project Based Learning Regional Finals is a reflection of their hard work and creativity. They demonstrated not only excellent culinary skills, but also an understanding of the sustainability challenges facing the hospitality industry today.”