‘The French’ host themed night at Tameside College
Thu, 06 April 2017
Food studies students from Tameside College had the pleasure of working alongside well-renowned chef, Adam Reid from the prestigious, ‘The French’ restaurant at the Midland Hotel to host an evening of British food classics at the college’s Reflections restaurant.
Students had the opportunity to learn new preparation and cooking techniques with Adam, who is currently head chef at The French. He is highly respected in the food and hospitality industry and even made an appearance on BBC Two’s, Great British Menu.
Adam has had a long-time passion for cooking, crediting his mother’s excellent cooking for his choice of career and wanted to become a chef from the age of seven. After starting his career at aged 16, with an apprenticeship at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Adam then trained in classic French cooking at Mallory Court in Leamington Spa, which at the time was a Michelin starred restaurant. When Simon Rogan took over The French at The Midland in Manchester, Adam took on the position of head chef and has since made the restaurant more accessible by creating a more relaxed menu and less formal atmosphere. He now hopes to inspire young people who have dreams of becoming chefs through his work with Tameside College.
Adam said: “There is currently a skills shortage in the food and hospitality industry so coming in to Tameside College to host themed nights like this are a great way to inspire students who are going to be our next generation of chefs. The students did really well and kept up the pace nicely. It’s been great to work with them.”
Kamila Plonska, restaurant manager at The French, said: “The French want to build relationships with students by giving them a real life restaurant experience within their college environment to help boost their employability skills. We have built a strong relationship with Tameside College over the years and currently have two former students working with us at The French. Zac Wolfe, a former food and hospitality supervision student at the college has recently been promoted to head waiter which shows students what they can achieve if they work hard at college and make these industry links early on.”
On the night, guests of Tameside College’s Reflections restaurant had a choice of a number of dishes, including: crisp chicken with turnip butter, pork belly, cod loin and shrimp butter and blue beef with watercress and parmesan. For dessert, they were treated to a British classic, the custard tart.
John Holden, food and hospitality teacher at Tameside College, said: “We’re really pleased to host The French at Tameside College’s Reflections restaurant. It is a huge honour and a great opportunity for our students to have experience in the kitchen with such a prestigious and highly respected chef like Adam Reid. They have learned a lot and I’m confident that the students will come out of this experience setting the even bar higher for themselves to achieve more than they thought they ever could. It will put them in good stead for when they go into industry and we’re thankful to The French for this opportunity.”
For more information on our food and hospitality courses, please call: 0161 908 6789 or click here.