Lancaster & Morecambe College students to work with chefs from top Lake District hotel as part of new partnership

The partnership will allow the college's catering students and apprentices the opportunity to take part in a range of masterclasses and cooking demos with Gilpin’s team of chefs, including Ollie Bridgwater, Aakash Ohol and Tom Westerland, whilst working towards achieving the prestigious Gilpin Ambassador’s Award.

Adult learners on the college's part-time culinary programme will have the chance to take part in a Masterchef-inspired Chefs’ Challenge Award, where they will create dishes based upon one of the Gilpin menus; with three award-winning restaurants to choose from, the students will be able to showcase their skills and will have their dishes judged by the Gilpin team.

Gilpin's Head of People and Culture, Helen Tappenden, said: "We're incredibly proud to be able to support the upcoming talent in the hospitality and catering industries, and it's even better that we can work to retain some of the amazing homegrown talent the North West has to offer.

"The partnership with LMC has been bubbling away for a few months, and we're excited to be able to officially launch our work together. We already have our first employee from the college too, so it’s talent development in action and at its best."

The partnership with the Gilpin team coincides with a complete rebrand of the college's catering and hospitality offer, with the launch of the new Bay School of Hospitality and the Bay Restaurant at LMC (formally Coulson’s Restaurant) which is scheduled to open to the public in late autumn.

Chef lecturer Alessandro Possamai has been working alongside his colleagues and the college's Employer Engagement team to develop the new venture.

“This industry is face-paced and ever-changing, and we wanted to bring a fresh approach to our teaching so that we can prepare our learners for lifelong careers in hospitality," he said.

"Working in partnership with the team at Gilpin, as our Hospitality Ambassadors, will give our learners excellent training opportunities and career progression.”

To kick-start the new partnership, head chef from the Knipe Grill at Gilpin Lake House, Tom Westerland, will join senior chef lecturer Adrian Law for a cookery demonstration at the college’s community open day on Saturday July 1.

The event is free to attend and runs from 10am to 3pm.

Applications are now open for all full-time and part-time Catering and Hospitality courses, which are scheduled to run from September 2023.