Exeter College Culinary Star, Paul Carne, Receives Prestigious City and Guilds Outstanding Achievement Award

An Exeter College teacher has been recognised for his knowledge and skill in the kitchen. Hospitality teacher Paul Carne, Programme Leader for the esteemed Michael Caines Academy, was nominated for a prestigious City and Guilds Award by his peers and ultimately awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award.

The City and Guilds Professional Recognition Awards have been developed for those at the highest professional levels within their chosen careers. The awards are NQF (National Qualifications Framework) accredited qualifications which enable candidates to demonstrate their knowledge and skills within any sector or role.

As a result of winning the City and Guilds Award and because judges were so impressed with his nomination, Paul was also awarded the Cherry Grainger prize from the Worshipful Company of Cooks, one of only two chefs in the whole country.

Presented by the Livery Companies Skills Council and The City and Guilds of London Institute, Paul Carne was invited to the historic Mansion House in London.

Expressing his gratitude, Paul remarked;

“It’s been a huge privilege to receive and attend the awards and a fantastic experience to attend such awards which have a huge tradition. To represent the college and the hard work of the whole hospitality faculty is an honour.

I have a real love for all things hospitality, the food, the buzz and the people. These awards ceremonies have given me a new experience into the industry and one I look forward to sharing with my learners.

I often talk to my students about their future careers and where their paths may lead, for me coming into the college to give a demonstration to the Michael Caines Academy gave me a spark to look to join the college and move into education. I have truly enjoyed my journey so far and being lucky enough to be awarded these awards is the icing on the cake.”

A male teacher cooks at the stove with two female students looking over his shoulder.

In his nomination, his colleague Matt Pickett, wrote;

“Paul is always willing to support hospitality events, even in the summer holidays and this year Paul spent a week of his summer holiday cooking for Exeter City’s Charitable Trust, catering for 900 of the cities most disadvantaged children under the HAF activities, Paul even drove the food to the children and helped serve.”

“Paul facilitates a 6-week work placement for his 16 learners ranging across the country, with many of these placements leading to full time employment and incredible outcomes for his learners. Paul’s success rates, retention and achievements are always sector leading, with an enormous output of enrichment for his learners. A very tough balancing act that involves a large amount of 1:1 and group tutorial time.”

Bryher Wilson, studying the Level 3 NVQ in Professional Cookery, is one of these learners, speaking about Paul, she said;

“Mr Carne was my tutor for Level 2 and he was very supportive and guided us to be more confident and taught us a lot in cooking too. He’s very approachable.”

Josh Conibear, also studying the Professional Cookery course, added;

“He was one of the first teachers I had in my first year and he was really inspiring and helped me find the love for cooking I didn’t know I had. Even now, in third year, he’s just amazing really.

“He taught me to be creative with everything I do. I’m already quite confident with doing it but sometimes I just follow the recipe and instructions too much. So, trying to put my own twist on it and be creative with everything I do.”

Paul has worked at the College for eight years, starting in an associate lecturer role, moving into the programme lead role. His transition into teaching brought with him excellent industry knowledge and has enabled Paul to mentor many new colleagues, helping them with the transition into teaching.

Head of Faculty for Hospitality, Hair and Beauty, Tracey Bennett, said;

“Paul is the colleague, teacher, and friend that everyone needs in their team, and we are the envy of many departments with the amount of enrichment, commitment and success that Paul is able to achieve, always with a smile. We are very proud that his hard work has been recognised with these awards.”

Come and experience our award-winning hospitality at the AA College Restaurant of the year, @thirty-four, and book your table today.

If you interested in studying Hospitality at Exeter College, then visit us at our next Open Event to find out more.

College Apprentice Justin Veal Wins Apprentice of the Year in National Heating and Plumbing Awards

Honiton resident, Justin Veal has been named Apprentice of the Year in the Heating and Plumbing Monthly Awards. Justin and the Synergi SW team joined other installers in Manchester for a glitzy award ceremony hosted by television presenter Jenny Powell.

Before his current career in heating and plumbing, Justin spent 11 years at Tesco, working in various roles in different stores and getting management training. He says it was a great experience, but deep down, he was craving something more hands-on and fulfilling.

After tinkering around with some DIY projects at home, Justin decided to spend one of his days off doing some work experience at Synergi SW. The team at Synergi were impressed with Justin’s dedication and they offered him an apprenticeship. He made the tough decision to leave Tesco and fully commit to it.

Justin is now starting phase three of his Apprenticeship with Exeter College and he says that he can’t even begin to express how much he loved phases one and two. He has been passing his coursework, consistently scoring between 85-90%. He has poured his heart and soul into this journey and now it’s paying off.

Speaking of his experience, Justin said;

“This has been such an amazing experience, I’m still so overwhelmed. Thank you to Synergi SW and Exeter College for helping me achieve this award.”

Looking ahead, Justin says he is particularly excited about the future of the heating and plumbing trade, especially in air source heat pumps;

“It’s such a fascinating field, and I have a real passion for sustainability and renewable energy”.

Managing Director of Synergi SW commented;

“We’ve known Justin had a natural flair for the trade since day one, so it’s a credit to him that he has now been recognised as the best nationally. We’re delighted to have him as part of the team.”

Find out more about an Apprenticeship with Exeter College at the next Open Event. Register today.

Exeter College’s @thirty-four Restaurant is named AA College Restaurant of the Year

The Exeter College student-run restaurant, @thirty-four is going from strength to strength. Home to the prestigious Michael Caines Academy, which recently celebrated its 10th year, it has been awarded the AA College Restaurant of the Year, the highest accolade a college restaurant can achieve. This news comes after receiving an AA Highly Commended College Rosette earlier this year.

This year’s AA College Restaurant of the Year competition challenged participating college restaurants to design an event celebrating one of three significant milestones in 2023: the 50th Anniversary of the first Concorde pan Atlantic flight, the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the NHS, or the 100th anniversary of Disney Brothers Studios. Students then had to present their ideas to a panel of judges. Exeter College chose to design their event around the 75^th anniversary of the NHS.

Students hold out awards for college restaurant

Andy Doyle, Partnerships Manager at People 1st International, judged the competition and praised @thirty-four’s approach, saying;

“The Restaurant, @thirty-four, fully hit the brief with a well-planned and researched event proposed for the 75th anniversary of the NHS. They put great thought into all elements of the brief including the marketing plan for the event and how they would utilise other departments of the college provision such as performing arts.

“They also ensured that the planned meal focussed on local produce and suppliers bringing in a sustainable approach to the whole event. Congratulations to the lecturers and chefs at Exeter College and well done to all the college teams that took part.”

Hospitality students stand out the college restaurant with their award

John Laramy CBE, Exeter College Principal said;

“Our vision is to be an exceptional college; this achievement is truly exceptional. A sector leading outcome that shows our world class partnership with Michael Caines MBE DL, our fantastic staff and the work of our amazing students.”

Freya holds up the AA Hospitality Award — Freya Hole was one of the students who presented to the judges panel.

Michael Caines MBE DL, alumni, and patron of the College, said;

“I feel incredibly proud of the students and staff for winning this amazing award, it is a true testament to all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes by the students and the College lecturers as well.

“I think past, and present students can be proud of this progression for the College and of the restaurant itself, with the beautiful refurbishment to bring it up to modern standards. The enthusiasm from all the team behind the scenes and out front too, has turned it into an amazing experience for customers.

“It’s easy to forget this is a training facility and a training environment and yet the standard is so high in every aspect in terms of the interior, the quality of the service and of course the food that is delivered by these young people, the future of our industry. It’s such a great achievement for the College, and rightfully so, they should be incredibly proud, it is brilliant to see.”

Second year Michael Caines Academy student, Freya Hole (pictured above) was one of the students who presented to the judging panel. Speaking about the experience, she said;

“It was an amazing opportunity to be able to work with Hospitality students from all three year groups to come up with this brilliant idea. We weren’t expecting to win so I think that’s what makes it even better because never in our wildest dreams were we expecting to win.”

Tracey Bennett, Head of Faculty for Hospitality, Hair, and Beauty at Exeter College, added;

“We are all so proud of the @thirty-four Restaurant and our commercial spaces and having this validated with the Highly Commended Rosette and now the College Restaurant of the Year has been amazing for everyone, students and staff alike.”

“This is such a fantastic achievement for all the students and staff across the diverse range of courses we offer here at Exeter College. From the Michael Caines Academy, NVQ and VRQ students; they all strive to meet the high standards their lecturers set.”

Staff collect award at AA Hospitality Awards — Staff were presented with the award at the AA Hospitality Awards in London.

Find out more about our Hospitality courses at our next Open Event.

Book a table at our award winning restaurant, @thirty-four.

Marketing Team Scoop Two National Awards

The Exeter College Marketing Team have scooped two awards at the coveted College Marketing Network FE First Awards 2018. They were nominated for an award for Full Time Prospectus and Team of the Year.

The team are thrilled to have come away with Highly Commended for the School Leavers’ guide and a Silver for Team of the Year. They had some fantastic feedback from the judges about their entries.

About the School Leavers prospectus, the judges said:

“The Highly Commended award goes to a prospectus featuring strong photography, good case studies and career insights that was both creative and diverse. The entry was well put together with a clear focus on results linked to college income. Judges liked the commercial mindset shown in linking the smart objectives and evaluation to generating income by Exeter College.”

The judged added:

“Our Silver Award for Marketing Team of 2018 goes to a strong entry from a team who have clear targets. Their digital first, data led, and campaign focused approach has delivered strong results. This is a team which clearly has a creative edge and who aren’t afraid to try new ideas – they have a strong focus and are able to reflect and improve.”