Communication is key in any work environment, and catering allows our students to develop their communication skills and their ability to work together in a busy environment. Catering is a cohesive, interactive team that highlights to our trainees their importance in the group. The trainees also learn about customer service, transaction skills and food hygiene, which are key in the hospitality trade.

This approach helps our students gain the confidence they need in a team to work hard and see results. These transferrable skills give our trainees a foundation on which they can grow, and allow them to succeed anywhere – not just in a kitchen environment.

Most importanty, our kitchen only cooks with fresh ingredients and local produce (where available) and even some ingredients grown by our trainees on the CASE allotments. We emphasise the importance in being able to cook a meal from scratch and produce a dish completely, which gives our students a real sense of confidence and achievement. The dishes they cook are served to customers at lunch time, and the satisfaction and pride the students feel is clear. This approach allows our students to replicate this type of fresh, healthy cooking at home, and encourages them to consider developing their cooking in a professional realm.

The kitchen at CASE is qualified to run qualifications in Hospitality and Catering up to Level 2, which is the industry standard level. Qualifications would be awarded by Pearson/Edexcel, which is the UK’s largest qualification provider and is nationally recognised. Students are given a rounded approach to cooking and hospitality that develops their kitchen abilities, communication skills and confidence. Units included are: Introduction to the Hospitality industry, Food Prep and cooking, Preparing and Serving Drinks, Customer Service and Food Hygiene.