LAUNCESTON College’s ‘Inspired’ restaurant inside Dunheved House will open to the public in early December.

The college currently run hospitality and catering courses for Year 10s, 11s, 12s and apprentices with the hope of setting them on their way to becoming the next big thing in the food industry.

Within a couple of weeks, pupils will prepare and serve three-course meals under the guidance of the new hospitality and catering lecturer Steve Pidgeon, who was the head chef at the Arundell Arms Hotel in Lifton for 14 years before making the switch to teaching ahead of the start of the new school year in September.

Vocational lead at Launceston College, Jean Bignell, outlines what they’re hoping to achieve from the project, which started back in 2016.

She said: “This is my third year as the vocational lead at Launceston College. My job is to drive this forward and offer a service for the VIPs within Launceston College and to prepare the students for industry.

“So finally getting the right staff has enabled us to move forward to get it to open for evenings, lunches, events and parties.

We’re already working closely with local employees and suppliers to promote our future chefs within industry.”

Steve added: “We’re looking to gain recognition for the restaurant for good quality food using local produce.”

Steve then went on to explain what will be on offer and how he hopes to expand it.

He said: “From the beginning of December we are offering our Christmas lunch menu Monday and Tuesday lunch times, although it’ll be bookings only as we need a certain amount of bookings to keep it going. It’ll be run by Year 10s, 11s, 12s and apprentices.

“The Christmas party menu can be for businesses, family get-togethers and local clubs, which will be available from December 1 to December 18.”

Looking even further ahead, Jean wants them to continue to grow.

She continued: “What we’d like is for an employer to come forward and take over the kitchen to work with the students, provide an employer focus and to show off what we do.

“We want to be recognised by employers in the industry, and to be a feeder college for future employees or apprentices. We believe that the key to a successful apprentice is working hand in hand with the employer during the training process.

“We’re not trying to work in competition with any other businesses, we want to promote a hospitality environment to our learners to prepare them for industry.

“It’s not just the cooking, it’s the soft skills such as communication, time-keeping, professionalism and problem solving.

“We have one apprentice at the moment — Josh Mannino who works with the Year 12s. But he’s already working at the Arundell Arms in Lifton as a pastry chef. He’s only 16 years old.”

Steve added: “He’s totally committed, anything we want or ask of him he’s more than happy to do.”

Jean and Steve believe that they are starting to get the system right.

Jean added: “Unlike other training establishments, we’re able to train with lower numbers. The maximum number of students we have in at one time is 14 in the kitchen and  the front of the house.”

Steve said: “Small numbers mean it is very hands on like a normal hotel kitchen.

“Being very hands on means they are always under pressure and they each have different roles.”

Steve went on to explain what skills are taught on the courses they provide — a City and Guilds Technical Award (level two) in cookery and service in the hospitality industry (Year 10s and 11s) while apprentices do a Commis Chef apprenticeship and a NVQ Level One — they provide.

He said: “We teach the students about hygiene, food preparation, allergens, dietaries, food commodities, different types of service, hot and cold bars, online bookings and catering for vegans, vegetarians and gluten-free.

“The students are responsible for their own stuff and nothing is brought in. It’s all made from scratch. Further down the line, they’ll make more difficult things.”

With just one apprentice at the moment, Jean wants students from outside of Launceston to get involved.

She continued: “To get on the course you don’t have to have gone to Launceston College to do your apprenticeship training.”

To find out more about the course or to book a meal at ‘Inspired’, please look at the ‘Inspired’ restaurant Facebook page or college website.