Hospitality & Catering students at Cheshire College – South & West’s Crewe Campus have helped to raise just over £1,500 for the mental health charity Visyon, after hosting a fund-raising Gourmet Evening.

Visyon, which has been supporting the emotional health of children, young people, and their families since 1994, initially approached the College to ask if they could host a charity night.

Seizing upon the opportunity, Hospitality & Catering students organised the whole event, obtaining raffle and auction prizes, sourcing matching wines for the food, and even choosing the evening’s guest chef, Thomas Leatherbarrow, who has his own catering events company.

During the lavish event, guests at the Campus’s state-of-the-art Academy Restaurant were treated to a six-course menu consisting of canapés, tomato consommé, Loch Duart smoked salmon, coffee basted beef with horseradish mash, blood orange jelly, and a smoked whiskey sticky toffee pudding.

In total, thanks to the students’ help, Visyon raised just over £1,500 by the end of the night.

Lecturer in Hospitality and Catering John Holden said: “We had excellent feedback from the Visyon Gourmet Evening. Guests were extremely impressed with the quality of both the food and the service, and our guest chef Thomas Leatherbarrow gave glowing feedback about our students.

“Visyon were blown away by the event and the Level 3 students did extremely well for bringing everything together.”

Level 3 Hospitality & Catering student Jess was behind the bar on the night and commented on how the evening went: “I think it was very smooth sailing; we all had our own supervisory role, and everyone did a great job.

“I think running an event like this is good because it gives you a lot of confidence. If I were to go out and get a job without doing events like this first, it wouldn’t prepare me in the same way. And with this being a charity night, it makes it even more worthwhile.”

Throughout their studies, Hospitality & Catering students have access to modern commercial kitchens, including on-site AA Rosette standard Academy Restaurants, where students will learn to prepare exquisite culinary creations. Cheshire College also offers hospitality, food, and beverage service courses where students can learn about the finer details of service in commercially-run, fine dining restaurants.

Find out more at www.ccsw.ac.uk.