A Taste of the Hospitality Industry

Posted at 12:01 pm on 25th April, 2023

Year 10 Visit the Alan Hotel

On the 28th March, Year 10 GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition students were welcomed by The Alan Hotel, Manchester, to offer them an insight, and inspire an interest, in the hospitality industry.

Wellacre has been partnered with The Alan Hotel for two years, as part of an arrangement with the Hoteliers Group, which links schools with local hospitality businesses.

The group of students, accompanied by Mrs Ashburn, Mrs Taylor and Ms Haymes, were greeted by The Alan Hotel’s Events Manager and taken on a tour of the hotel and entertainment suite. 

  

They also enjoyed an introduction to the hotel’s ethos and learned how they source all their food locally as well as their artwork, which is created by Manchester Metropolitan University students. 

The highlight of the day was the Chef’s Table experience, where students met Executive Chef James and watched him set to work in the kitchen to prepare a range of dishes for them to taste and guess the ingredients. These included wild garlic, anchovies, pickled rhubarb, wild mushrooms, dill, coriander, lamb breast, steak tartar and their signature chips. The session finished with a question and answer session with Chef James.

  

Mrs Ashburn, Teacher of Food, Cooking and Nutrition, said:

“Students were able to see food in a different environment and watch new techniques of preparing, cooking and presenting a wide range of ingredients, such as grating dehydrated egg yolk on top of the steak tartar.  The students enjoyed guessing and tasting new ingredients, even some of our fussy eaters! 

“They asked some great questions and found out that the chef had cooked for the Queen and Prince Harry, and that there are perks to working on a Chef’s counter, such as getting VIP tickets to a concert because the band is staying at the hotel!”

  

The trip was a fantastic and new experience for students to gain an insight into the industry and watch a live chef’s demonstration. Students were keen to share their views of the experience: 

Kaden, said:

“The visit inspired me to become a chef; I enjoyed watching them make food and eating food that I have never tried before - it had a wonderful texture and a scrumptious taste! It was good to be able to ask the chef questions about how he cooks, what led him to become a chef and their time at The Alan Hotel.”

Fellow Year 10, Nathan, said:

“Overall the trip was a great learning experience. It was good to be able to try new foods such as anchovies, horseradish, wild garlic and steak tartar. The staff at the hotel were extremely welcoming and friendly, and they answered all our questions to the best of their ability.”

Ryan added:

“I liked the experience of trying new foods and ingredients that I haven’t had the opportunity to eat before. It was good to sit around the kitchen and watch them cook tasty food in front of us. They created a friendly environment for us to visit and learn about the Alan Hotel.”

Mrs Sharrock, Principal, said:

“Meaningful encounters with employers is something we have been developing to strengthen our curriculum provision in all subjects.  We really value our links with The Alan Hotel and are appreciative of the opportunities the link provides our students.”