Pupils at a Middlesbrough school put on a sumptuous fine-dining experience for parents and special guests after completing a special six-week training programme.
Seven Year 10 pupils at Trinity Catholic College were selected for the hospitality and catering course, which was overseen by Paul O’Hara, who worked in Michelin-starred kitchens before joining Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust (NPCAT) as executive chef last year.
Four pupils focused on putting together a delicious three-course meal in the kitchen, while the other three formed a front-of-house hospitality team, welcoming guests and serving them throughout the evening.
“We looked for pupils who have aspirations to go into this sort of work,” said Paul. “The kitchen group learned how to prepare the starter, main course and dessert and how the kitchen runs.
“The front-of-house team learned how to take orders, how to set the table up and how to meet, seat and greet our guests and then take their orders and bring them to the kitchen.”

The big test came with the dinner for 60 guests in Trinity’s recently opened Martha’s Kitchen dining hall. They included parents, members of NPCAT’s senior leadership team and representatives from the other secondary schools within the trust.
They chose from a starter of Mac ‘n’ Cheese Fritters or a Ham Hock Terrine with Piccalilli and Toasted Sourdough, a main course of Herb-Fed Chicken Breast with Bacon, Peas and Potato Gratin or North Sea Fishcake, Soft Poached Hen’s Egg and Warm Tartare Sauce.
For dessert, there was a choice of Sticky Toffee Pudding, Butterscotch Sauce with Vanilla Ice Cream or Eton Mess.
“Because it was a choice menu on the night, none of us knew what was going to happen,” said Paul.
“It was challenging, but that’s what I wanted, to show what they could accomplish if they put in the time and effort to learn and prepare properly. It was stressful at times, but we got there in the end.
“They learned real life skills and had a first taste of a real kitchen and a real working environment. It’s not like a cookery class at school. Anything could happen in the kitchen that day.
“The skills they have come away with will boost their confidence because they had to work as a team, relying on others they might not have spoken to in school before. It will also be good for their CVs that they have already had some work experience.”

Paul called in an old friend to help train the front-of-house team, Ben Hunt, a former restaurant manager at the Five Red Star Rockliffe Hall Hotel.
Ben, who now works for the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA), gave up an hour of his time every week to come in and help. There was a display and a talk about the GNAA’s work on the night and guests were invited to give a donation if they wished to.

The event was a collaboration between NPCAT Catering and NPCAT FutureProof Careers.
The trust’s head of careers, Lisa Lindo, said: “This fantastic experience brought so many benefits to our pupils, including self-confidence, resilience and team building.
“It will also help them if they wish to move into careers in the hospitality sector in the future.”
The training was piloted at Trinity but Paul hopes to roll it out to the other five secondaries in NPCAT, which runs 38 schools across Teesside and North Yorkshire, including the city of York.