Professional Cookery: Catering Foundation

While many businesses throughout the economy have faced tough times, the hospitality industry has once again bucked this trend. The hospitality sector employs seven per cent of the working population. Including replacement demand, an additional 660,200 people will need to be recruited by 2020 People 1st State of the Nation 2013. Gloucestershire College is the main provider of hospitality, catering and chef training in the county and has a long, successful track record, with students going on to develop careers with a wide range of establishments. You may initially think about working in a hotel or restaurant (our students have gone on to work and own Michelin starred restaurants) but remember there are also lots of opportunities in company catering, hospitals and care homes, schools, sporting events or anywhere where people need to be fed! You may work in diverse roles such as; food and beverage manager, chef, waiting staff, conference and banqueting manager, crew member and housekeeper. A catering qualification is a great passport to working all over the world in an exciting and dynamic industry. You will gain industry experience by having the opportunity to work in our commercially run restaurants and catering outlets using our well-equipped professional kitchens and being taught by our skilled and motivated industry experienced team. The NVQ Certificate in Food Preparation and Cooking Level 1 will provide you with the basic practical skills needed to work in the kitchens. The NVQ Certificate in Food and Beverage Service Level 1 will provide you with the skills to take orders and serve customers and you can expect to do this in one of our college catering outlets. The Level 2 award in Food Safety in Catering will help you to work safely and hygienically. Alongside these catering qualifications you will also take a Certificate in Employability and Personal Development, and work towards developing your English Maths and ICT skills. You will be assessed during the course which will include practical and theoretical tests and you will need to pass each of these in order to progress onto the next stage of the programme. You will be required to have a full Chefs uniform, which you keep clean and ironed. We recommend that all Level 1 students own a set of knives, and this is mandatory for level 2 and 3.

All students will be expected to arrive in practical classes in clean and ironed chefs uniforms.

The Catering Foundation course is for you if you are expecting GCSE’s around grades D and E and want to enter the catering and hospitality industry. At interview we will be looking for enthusiastic and keen students who are willing to work hard. The course includes several qualifications, which will help you to do this.

At the end of the course you can apply to join our Level 2 programme in Professional Cookery, sign up for an apprenticeship, or find work in the industry.