NESCol students cook up a storm in Glasgow
March 28, 2023
North East Scotland College Professional Cookery students Adam Wood and Ellie Gray (both 20) triumphed at a competition held recently in Glasgow. The pair each came away with gold and bronze medals from the annual Scottish Culinary Championships which were held at the SEC as part of ScotHot, a national showcase of food, drink, hospitality, retail and tourism.
Adam was awarded gold in the chicken for saute skills challenge and bronze for his sustainable fish dish while Ellie received gold for her fish preparation skills and bronze for her sustainable fish dish.
The duo, who are both studying Advanced Professional Cookery at NESCol, work together at the Saplinbrae Hotel and Lodges near Mintlaw in Aberdeenshire where Ellie is a chef de partie and Adam is a commis chef. Adam said, “I wanted to take part in a competition because it was a different challenge and I thought it would be good experience for my career.” Ellie said, “The competition was a little overwhelming at first as I didn’t know what to expect. There was quite a lot of pressure as the judges were constantly walking around while we were working.”
Their lecturer Kelly Greenhowe said, “We first started talking about the competition in November and they started training two or three times a week in January including a couple of weekends. I’m really proud of them because they worked hard and performed really well on the day. We’re delighted as a team that the skills we are teaching at NESCol are so highly regarded by industry experts.”
Adam and Ellie both agreed that they enjoyed the experience and would like to take part in more competitions in future.
Peter Baxter, Curriculum Manager for Tourism and Hospitality at NESCol, said, “This is a great demonstration of something I learned early in my career – that dedication, hard work and commitment rarely goes unrewarded. Adam and Ellie put in the time to hone their skills and dishes through practice and they’ve had this recognition as a result. I’m sure they will both go on to have long and successful careers in the industry.”
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