Top chef’s lesson in cuisine

Catering and hospitality students from Llanelli began the new year working with the head chef of the town’s new Sospan restaurant.

Students attending Coleg Sir Gâr’s Pibwrlwyd campus worked with Sian Rees, a former student of the college of 15 years. After college, she moved to London where she worked for some of the UK’s Michelin starred and high-end restaurants including Claridge’s, L’Esgargot and Galvin’s Bistro de Luxe.

Sian designed a menu for a special gourmet evening which the students prepared and catered for a service of more than 40 people in Merlin’s Restaurant, the college’s training restaurant for students. The menu included crab lasagne, blood orange sorbet and pear and almond tart.

“Special gourmet evenings provide invaluable experience for our learners and we’re very grateful to Sospan for supporting our training in this way,” said lecturer Linda Thomas.

“One of our students who finished last year and is working at Sospan, returned to experience running the restaurant and the event also provided an excellent opportunity for our new Pathways to Apprenticeship (PtA) students to get practical experience of working under a top chef, giving them a taste of the 200 hours industry experience they need to do to complete the course.”

Picture:  From left, Coleg Sir Gâr student Diana Duca, head chef at Sospan Sian Rees, Sospan commis chef Jack Sears and student Anthony Johnson