Professional Cookery: Diploma in Catering Level 2

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. This course is the natural progression from the Professional Diploma in Catering level 1. You will need to attend an interview with a member of the academic team. When they interview you they will consider your college results, attendance record and your professional attitude to college and work. The assessments will build on the work you have done in on the Level 1 programme, and enable you to continue to gain merits and distinctions, and will be a mixture of practical and written work . You will spend time working in Renaissance Restaurant, preparing and cooking food, and this will involve at least one night a week in college. As in your first year you can expect to spend a week working at the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival in March. All courses have assessment during the course which will include practical and theoretical tests. You will need to pass each of these in order to progress onto the next stage of the programme. All courses require you to have 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.

You will need to attend an interview with a member of the academic team. When they interview you they will consider your college results, attendance record and your professional attitude to college and work.

After you have completed this course you have three options. The more able students will be offered places on the Professional Diploma in Catering Level 3, or the NVQ 3 Diploma in Hospitality Supervision, others may move onto Advanced Apprenticeships and some may find work, either with or without day release back to college to take NVQ 3 qualifications.