Culinary arts students at Reading College put their heads together and used their skills and imagination to come up with the amazing dessert that guests will be enjoying tomorrow (Friday) at the Pride of Reading Awards lunch.
The final choice was chocolate layered raspberry sponge cake which will be served as part of the menu devised at the Hilton Reading where the awards ceremony and lunch will be held for the first time, in its twenty-first year.
Their creation was developed with Hilton executive head chef Nilanka Roshan under the guidance of chef lecturer Paul Foley who, with colleagues, runs The Kitchen restaurant at the college in Kings Road where students are trained to enter the world of professional cooking.
Paul said: “We were so chuffed to be asked to contribute to the Pride of Reading Awards lunch.”
The invitation came after Paul and his team at The Kitchen won the Hospitality Award last year.
Professional chef Paul said the challenge was to devise a dessert that was feasible to produce for hundreds of people in a busy service and which would delight the guests.
The team were being supported in the challenge by chef Nilanka at the Hilton Reading where the desserts were prepared.
He said: “We worked together to make sure the dessert was practical to deliver but delicious.”
Nilanka added: “We were delighted to take on the task of providing the lunch for the Pride of Reading Awards and to work with the students from the college to produce the dessert.”
The course at Reading College and University Centre has three levels and youngsters aged from 16 upwards get to work alongside experienced chefs on live projects, compete in regional and national food competitions and cater for big events including awards dinners and functions.
As well as outside work placements they run The Kitchen, which is open to the public for lunch on Wednesdays and lunch and dinner on Thursdays during term-time.
The hands-on experience equips them to feel immediately useful and at home in professional kitchens among other hospitality roles.
Paul said: “They can end up in restaurants, hotel kitchens, gastro-pubs or even in related industries such as nutrition and food science. Some go on to university to expand their knowledge.”
He also has former students who now work in Michelin star establishments and on a visit to the Hilton found three from previous years employed in the kitchen there.
The Kitchen is popular with younger diners in the evening but also large groups such as the WI and Rotary Club, said Paul. “We have many loyal customers,” he added.
Chef Nilanka started his career in 2000 in his native Sri Lanka at the prestigious Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya having trained at the International Hotel School.
Two years later he was in Ireland working as a pastry chef.
His next move was to join the Hilton group in Leeds in 2004, and then Coventry where he won his own award as Employee of the Year in 2011, taking advantage of their extensive training scheme.
Since then he has worked for the Hilton without much of a break, in Bracknell, Bristol and Reading, taking on a variety of roles until reaching the top job.
Here he presides over the food offered in the Oxbo Bar, Café and Restaurant, delivering a variety of fresh and flavoursome dishes, as well as buffets and banquets.
