Food & Beverage Service

Course Overview

This course runs over three days a week. You would spend three days in the restaurant, thus gaining experience in the restaurant learning about the various areas and sections relating to food and beverage service. You will also spend up to 2 hours a week in theory where you will have the opportunity to expand your knowledge about food and beverage service in relation to the units you are doing, studying units such as; customer service, team work, preparing and setting the restaurant, bar service and payment handling. These units are then completed when all the criteria are met.

This course gives students a realistic experience of working in a busy hospitality environment and with high end clients. For example, in the morning you could be serving breakfast to the Lake District Hotel Association, followed by lunch in the college restaurant and then setting up a buffet and canapes at the Town Hall for the international Mountain Festival. The department caters for many prestigious community events throughout the year, such dinners for the Mayor and for the Cumbria Life Food and Drink Awards.

Students are given the opportunity to participate in many enrichment events over the year. Students will visit local hotels such as Lakeside at Newby Bridge and Beech Hill near Bowness, to gain an insight into how these businesses operate and will be given the opportunity to travel abroad e.g.this year students visited Belgium and last year France.

The Hospitality department also recruits a Culinary Team who are employed by the college to support additional corporate events, with the money raised going into an end of year foreign experience. Students in previous years have visited top restaurants and hotels in Chicago, Dubai, Toronto, China, Japan and this year will be flying to Italy.

The department runs parents evenings during the year and an End of Year Prize Giving Ceremony. The department also invites three guest chefs into college to give students specific skill demonstrations.

You will develop your skills as a chef and as a front of house waitress/ waiter. You will gain experience in the following areas:
- Setting up events and laying out tables
- Costing ingredients
- Menu planning
- Taking orders
- Bar service
- Serving customers in the restaurant

You will develop your culinary skills, working on by improving your customer service skills, honing bar and service skills as well as team work.

All of our learners will be given support with their English and Maths skills where relevant to their main programme. Those students who have not yet achieved a 'C' grade at GCSE in these subjects will continue to work towards these important qualifications at a level suited to them.

Practical and written assessments take place throughout the year. There is also an end of year practical exam which makes up 45 percent of the students overall mark.