South Lanarksire College students started the 2021/22 academic year with a bang as staff and students from South Lanarkshire College’s  Hospitality section, played a key part in creating and preparing the menu for a fine dining lunch at the 5* Old Course Hotel, St Andrews. 

The event was attended by 55 esteemed guests from the hospitality industry.  The lunch was arranged to showcase Scottish ‘Sustainable’ seafood and the day involved input from local and regional suppliers

South Lanarkshire College Lecturer and Masterchef David Auchie together with our Hospitality students: Jamie Kimmett, Jason Simpson, Nelly Dokie, Shannon Lippiatt, Ellie Turner, Jackie Chan and Susan Scott were all in the  involved. This was testament to their commitment to come in prior to term time starting properly. All the major preparations were undertaken in the college before being safely sent and served to guests at the luxury resort.

The mouthwatering menu produced and prepared in collaboration with Compass Scotland included Canapes, Anster cheese gougere, Salmon with Mara Seaweed and Heather Hills Honey Mousse with Glenlivet Whisky, Lavender, Lemon & Zallotti Blossom Complemented by Caramelised Chocolate

The lunch was designed to showcase sustainable Scottish produce and was embraced by the following companies: Amity Seafood Peterhead, Mark Murphy Vegetables, Campbells Prime Meat Butchers, Barra Berries, Mara Seaweed, Koppertcress Micro Herbs. Even one of the plates which was used for the starter was commissioned by ‘Shennan’s Ceramics’ in Turiff and was made using Scottish sand to resemble the ‘aurora borealis’.

The SLC students cooked the lunch in partnership with Chefs from Compass Scotland,  the event was a wonderful opportunity for out students to embrace sustainability issues but also, gave them vast  from a logistic experience, as they learned about the  skills involved in catering for larger numbers to Michelin standard cookery.

One lucky student, Shannon Lippiatt said  “it’s been an amazing opportunity to create this service for the Masterchefs lunch at St Andrews. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. I was thrilled to meet the amazing chefs, learn what it is like to run a service in a professional kitchen and show off the skills I’ve gained over the past few years at South Lanarkshire College. This experience has given me confidence and helped me realise how far I have actually come in my cooking career. I am very proud of myself for that and thankful for everyone who has helped me on my culinary journey”.

Jamie Kimmett, Jason Simpson and Nelly Dokie were presented with the ‘Masterchefs Training Diploma’ for exceptional standards demonstrated over and above during the academic term 2020.  THe award delivery had been delayed  due to Covid restrictions.

All South Lanarkshire College students involved in the prestigious lunch were awarded a certificate of participation as a memento of their day.

This article appears as part of The Herald's The Future Of Education campaign, in association with South Lanarkshire College.