The Great Food Fight

On Friday night, two teams of Oaklands College catering and hospitality students put their culinary skills to the test as they battled it out to produce the best three course meal for members of the public.

The Great Food Fight was an F-word style evening where one team of students cooked a British menu with locally sourced food, and the other opted for a classic French menu.

Guests had to score each of the three courses out of five to determine which team produced the best restaurant quality meal.

The whole event was student led, including the front of house service, preparing the tables to a professional restaurant standard, running the cloakroom, serving pre-dinner drinks and looking after diners during the evening.

Guests were also able to see behind the scenes in the kitchen through a live camera feed operated by our media students and two chef lecturers explained each course and cooking styles, guiding diners through the evening.

At the end of the night, the British won by just a few points and the scores were exceptionally high for both menus, most courses scoring 4 and 5 out of 5.

Mark Dawe, Principal and Chief Executive of Oaklands College, comments: “Run in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, this event was designed to give our students real-life experience of working in a restaurant situation where paying guests are expecting a high-standard of food and service in a short time.

“The event was a fantastic success and the feedback overwhelmingly good, with guests asking if there will be similar events in the future that they can come to. The students were thrilled with the response from diners and it has been a real boost to their confidence as well as expanding their knowledge of working in catering and hospitality as a career.”

Lisa Bates, General Manager, St Albans District Chamber of Commerce, and guest on the night said: “What a fantastic evening, it was great to see such enthusiasm and professionalism from the catering students rising to the challenge. 

“It is so important for the students to have these opportunities with honest feedback to help them improve.  The quality of the food was excellent, they should be very proud. The Chamber of Commerce is very keen to continue building stronger links between Oaklands students and the business community.”

All profits raised on the night will go to the St. Albans Open Door charity.