A team of student chefs from Cornwall rose to the occasion as they catered for an event hosted by BBC Radio 4 and featuring renowned national food critic, Jay Rayner.

BBC Radio 4 brought its witty and informative culinary panel show ‘The Kitchen Cabinet’ to Cornwall last week, which saw an audience of food and drink enthusiasts gather at Truro College to put their questions to a panel of experts, including the show’s host, Jay Rayner.

Full- and part-time Professional Cookery and Hospitality students from Truro College’s fine dining training restaurant, Spires, took the opportunity to impress by providing 600 canapés to whet the appetite of over a hundred members of the public and give them some food for thought prior to the show’s recording.

Bitesize treats on offer included lobster and shrimp fishcakes, veal meatballs with tomato relish, Mediterranean vegetable kebabs, fresh crab and chive tartlets, golden syrup cheesecake and chocolate mousse cups with edible flowers.

One of the part-time students, Alice Carrington from Bude, had the daunting task of presenting a platter of canapés to Jay Rayner and the team for their appraisal, as well as being interviewed about her course and the canapés produced for the show.

All of the creations were incredibly popular, with the stand-out canapé being the local grilled mackerel served on a bed of freshly pickled samphire. One of the comments from the team was that, “People tend to over-complicate canapés, but two ingredients which complement each other, well-prepared, is all that is needed.”

Lee Hall, Truro College Catering Lecturer, said: “The event gave our students an opportunity to use some of the best locally produced products in an arena different to the norm. The part time group had not produced canapés previously, so this added another aspect to their learning.

“The evening was really very exciting for all of the learners involved, to be preparing food for a highly respected critic added an extra dimension to their lessons and although they were very nervous, they all produced food of the highest quality.”

ENDS

Note

The episode of ‘The Kitchen Cabinet’ recorded at Truro College will be aired on Saturday 7th May on BBC Radio 4 at 10:30am.