Member Article

Birmingham hotel cooks up educational activity day

A Birmingham hotel dished up an educational activity day to give schoolchildren an insight into the hospitality and catering industry.

Campanile Hotel Birmingham in Chester Street, Aston, hosted the event for Year 10 pupils from Houghton Regis Academy in Dunstable, which included a variety of practical and educational workshops.

The pupils, who are all studying for a GCSE in catering, were given a full tour of the hotel and also took part in a number of lessons including health and safety and hotel management.

They also spent time in the kitchen with chef Stuart Willets who taught the students how to make dishes including chicken supreme, steak strips and bangers and mash.

General manager Alex McLean was also on hand to answer any questions and provided a detailed account of what it is like to work in the hospitality industry.

He said: “The activity day was a great success and all of the pupils were eager to take part in the workshops and find out more about the hospitality and catering industry.

“It is a fast-paced industry with a large variety of opportunities and it was great for them to get out of the classroom and gain a real-life insight into the operations of a hotel.

“We were more than happy to accommodate the activity day and it is definitely something we would like to do more of in the future.”

Mr Martin Bonner, principal at Houghton Regis Academy, added: “We are extremely grateful to Campanile Hotel Birmingham for facilitating the activity day.

“Combining educational and practical workshops is a great way to engage students who are looking to start a career in the catering and hospitality industry.

“The students really enjoyed themselves and it was a fantastic opportunity for them to ask questions. I think it will have a really positive impact on their understanding of the industry.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .