WestKing Culinary Arts Students celebrate Food Waste Action Week with waste-free creations

Professional Chef students take part in Guardians of Grub Food Waste Action Week event and serve up waste-free dishes using new techniques and knowledge.

On 20 March, Professional Chef Level 1 Diploma students from Westminster Kingsway College’s (WestKing) School of Culinary Arts and guests from a range of organisations attended an exciting and informative Food Waste Action Week event. 

The Guardians of Grub Food Waste Ambassadors Round-table event began with an informative session where guests shared best practices and ideas to reduce food waste within the hospitality industry. Attendees included a range of industry representatives including professionals from OXO Tower Restaurant, Fullers, London Olympia and catering companies. 

As part of their course, the Professional Chef Level 1 Diploma students have been studying food sustainability and learning about the environmental impact of food waste. They have also completed the Guardians of Grub Cost Savings Skills course to support them as they learn more about the hospitality industry.

Following the round-table session, guests were taken on a tour of the kitchens at WestKing’s Victoria Centre, home to the UK’s leading school of Hospitality and Culinary arts. During the tour of the centre’s industry-standard facilities, they were able to see the students in action as they prepared for a unique culinary challenge.

As part of the event, Chef Vince Kelly hosted a special competition alongside climate action NGO WRAP challenging student chefs to create a waste-free main course. Chef Vince Kelly is the Manager of Capital City College Group’s (CCCG) Hospitality Hub, one of the college group’s Mayor of London’s Skills Academies and an Ambassador of Guardians of Grub, a campaign supporting Hospitality and Food Service businesses to reduce their food waste.

Twenty students entered the competition, with three progressing to the final round – Joe Margaritas, Oscar SnippIshaan and Atul Kotecha. Their dishes included an array of delicious creations such as beetroot wellington and roasted cauliflower steaks, with innovative zero-waste accompaniments including vegetable peel stuffing, vegetable waste gravy, spiced potato skins and cauliflower crisps.

During the final round of judging, each student chef introduced their dish and explained their waste reduction processes. A panel of Guardians of Grub members, ambassadors and partners from WRAP chose the winner, taking into consideration the taste, waste elimination and sustainability of each dish.

The judges agreed that the students had excelled in their efforts, producing outstanding results that were both innovative and delicious. The winning chef was Oscar Snipp with his dish of roasted cauliflower, Romesco sauce with charred chillies and toasted almond, olive oil potato mash spiced potato skins and cauliflower leaf with roasted garlic butter. Oscar received a set of Flint and Flame knives and the opportunity to spend that day at Apricity, Chantelle Nicholson’s Green Michelin-starred restaurant. The three finalists will become the very first student ambassadors for Guardians of Grub.

Chef Vince Kelly was delighted with how the three finalists engaged with the brief and supported each other during the competition, often working together to ensure their dishes were ready to serve on time. He said: “I am excited to see our food waste and sustainability module become part of our first-year curriculum and look forward to progressing plans next academic year which will include these three students as food waste ambassadors.”

Our School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts has a long-standing reputation for excellence within the industry, providing excellent training and learning opportunities for students of all levels. Take a look at our fascinating range of courses and apply today!

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