Hospitality teachers inspired at training day

Passionate hospitality secondary school teachers from around the Bay brought away fresh inspiration after attending Bay of Plenty Polytechnic’s Hospitality Taste, Learn and Experience event last Friday.

The training day provided an opportunity for teachers to hone their cooking skills and keep up to date with the latest industry trends while networking with other like-minded academics.

Lee Pearce, Polytechnic Hospitality tutor said the day provided a fantastic opportunity for the hospitality team to showcase their student’s skills. “It was great to re-connect with local teachers and show off our students and award winning Atrium Restaurant in a lively and entertaining forum.”

A highlight for visitors and Polytechnic students and staff alike was meeting and learning from guest chef Shane Yardley, Head Chef at the Hilton’s acclaimed Fish restaurant and celebrity guest judge on New Zealand Master Chef. With over 20 years chefing experience, Shane wowed the room with his live cooking demonstration while his oven roasted hapuka dish with carrot, ginger butter, wilted spinach and toasted pine nuts (cooked and served by second year hospitality students) left everyone wanting more.

“Having worked in top restaurants in the USA, UK and New Zealand, and being a Bay of Plenty Polytechnic hospitality graduate, I really wanted to emphasise that with some hard work and having a good working attitude this qualification can really take you places,” says Shane. “It was also a great opportunity to give something back to my local community and education; I really enjoyed working with next generation of chefs.”

The training day also included a ‘sharpening your cooking skills’ session with local chef Gordon Oakley and Lee Pearce shared his ‘Fat Duck’ working experiences in the UK. Teachers ended the day with sampling desert foods.

“Our students were inspired by Shane; they were able to work with one of the best chefs in the country and benchmark their skills against him,” says Lee. “It was also great to see so many of the teachers thrilled with this day taking away many valuable lessons to share with their students.”

The hospitality event also came at the perfect time for the Polytechnic’s students who were able to use the experience as valuable training ahead of competing in the Auckland 2012 New Zealand Culinary Fare show in August.