Hospitality and Catering students take staff ‘around the world’ with international cuisine takeaway service

Selby College’s Hospitality and Catering students have been providing staff with a taste of international cuisine with its new ‘World Takeaway’ service.

Over the past month, students have handmade and prepared themed dishes from around the world, including Indian, Moroccan and Thai inspired food. Some of the dishes were even designed by students who originate from Thailand and Morocco, inspired by their authentic family recipes and spices.

Thai Unleavened Bread and Popia Tod Spring Rolls as part of the Thai themed week

The dishes – which were available in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options - have been offered as part of a weekly takeaway service to staff, which has received great feedback.

“Due to the most recent lockdown restrictions, we were unable to open our training restaurant which provides our students with the opportunity to prepare and serve their own dishes to the public. This gave us the opportunity to explore other avenues of providing a service and the ‘World Takeaway’ was a great fit. It has not only been a success with staff across the College, but it has enabled the students to explore different cultures and experiment with different foods, spices and traditional recipes,” said Adrian Dawes, Subject Leader in Hospitality & Catering.

Adrian has previously trained with chefs who specialise in Indian cuisine, which set the tone for the theme of the first week of the service – a ‘Taste of India’.

The Moroccan themed week was inspired by Tangier, a Moroccan port on the Strait of Gibraltar and included local dishes such as Tagine, Moroccan spiced couscous and samosas. The most recent destination on the world food tour was Thailand, which celebrated the vibrant colourful fragrant spices of lime leaves, ginger and coriander.

The themed weeks have received fantastic feedback from Selby College staff so far:

Debra Martin, who works in the College’s Finance Department, said: “The chicken chatt, bombay potatoes and paratha roti made by our talented students in the Hospitality and Catering Department tasted amazing. Thank you to all of the team.”

Kirsty Butterworth, Lecturer in Biology at Selby College, said: “We really enjoyed the Moroccan themed night. We had the lamb tagine, vegetable tagine, spiced vegetable couscous, chicken samosas and vegetable samosas, courtesy of our fantastic Hospitality and Catering team. Thank you for another delicious meal.”

Paul Cliff, Assistant Director of Business Development at Selby College, said: “The Thai themed takeaway by Adrian and the Hospitality and Catering team was fantastic and a great end of week treat.”

In addition to the ‘World Takeaway’ service, students have also been providing a two-course ‘click and collect’ lunch menu to staff which has been very successful.

The students are also getting in the festive spirit and are making a range of Christmas produce for staff to purchase, including homemade Christmas pudding, mince pies, rum sauce, soups and bread rolls.

Hospitality and Catering students take staff ‘around the world’ with international cuisine takeaway service.