Peterborough students serve up success on a plate

The trio, who all attend Peterborough Regional College, romped to victory at the regional heat of the Country Range Student Chef Challenge - a firm fixture in the catering industry’s calendar.

Run in partnership with the Craft Guild of Chefs, the student chef challenge is seen by many as the stepping stone to a future career in the hospitality industry.

Students had to prepare, cook and present the three courses for four covers within a 90-minute period. Robert Manterfield (Level 3 Professional Chef), Joel Barton (Level 3 Professional Chef) and Chester Briddon (Level 3 Food and Beverage Supervision) will now take part in the live grand final on March 3, at the HRC Show in London’s ExCel centre where the 10 winning teams from the regional heats will compete to take home the title of 2019/2020 Country Range Student Chef Challenge winners.

Trevor Braid, Chef Lecturer at PRC, was full of praise for Robert, Joel and Chester, who also work within the hospitality department at the college to produce and service Parcs Restaurant.

He said: We are all extremely proud of our learners, they’ve worked so hard in preparing for the competition which has resulted in them walking away from the semi finals as winners. We cannot wait for the finals in London.”

Steve Lyons, Sales Director at Thomas Ridley Foodservice, a wholesaler to the food industry which backed the PRC entry to the event was delighted with the team’s success in the competition,

“Achieving a place in the finals is an absolute testament to the skill and determination of the students and we are absolutely delighted to be supporting them. The competition is seen as a real opportunity for our future chefs to carve out a career in the hospitality industry and we are thrilled for Joel, Robert and Chester and can’t wait to see them in the live grand final.”