New skills centre opens for school cooks in Hastings

9th November 2009, 7:32am

Eight school cooks from three secondary schools in Hastings will today become the first to attend a new course at William Parker Sports College, delivering a NVQ in Professional Cookery designed specifically to match the needs of school caterers.

The course has been designed and organised by the South East School FEAST partnership, led by GY5 Ltd and Sussex Downs College.

The new School FEAST training kitchen at William Parker Sports College will offer an 18-week course of tuition and assessment based around the units of NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery which are most relevant to school cooks. 

Prue Leith, Chair of the School Food Trust said: "School cooks are the heartbeat of our school food revolution - transforming lunches and children's health. They deserve the best training. This extension of the School FEAST network will play a key role in nurturing the school cooks of the future – enhancing the skills of kitchen staff for hundreds of schools in Hastings and the surrounding area, and ensuring more children eat a healthy lunch every day." 

The students at Hastings will today begin practical sessions. The course will be completed at the end of April, when the cooks will be able to apply their skills at their schools, improving the quality of food served to children across the region. 

Any school catering staff in the South East interested in registering for the course should contact Louise Crowe at Sussex Downs College on 01273 402203, or by emailing Louise.Crowe@sussexdowns.ac.uk

Related Articles:

• 02 Sep 2010 - 200 schools and counting – all set for celebrity School Cooks competition
• 22 Jun 2010 - New School FEAST Training Kitchen and Food Technology Facilities open in Hastings today
• 07 Dec 2009 - Prue Leith opens restaurant and kitchen at The King's School

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